;-NRLF 


E37    111 


University  of  California. 


'L'  OF1 


Alexander  Del  Mar. 


Accessions  No.. /.&#.$?..         Shelf  No. 


THE 


FUTURE  WEALTH  OF  AMERICA: 


BEING  A  GLANCE  AT  THF 


RESOURCES  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES 


COMMERCIAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  ADVANTAGES 


DF  CULTIVATING 


TEA,  COFFEE,  AND  INDIGO,  THE  DATE,  MANGO,  JACK, 
LEECHEE,  GUAVA,  AND  OKANGE  TKEES,  ETC. ' 


WITH   A 


REVIEW    OF    THE   CHINA  TRADE 


BY  FRANCIS  BONYNGE, 

FOR   FOURTEEN    YEARS    A    RESIDENT   IN   INDIA    AND    WEST    OF   CHINA. 


*     LIB  R  A  R 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY  THE.  AUTHOR. 

1852. 


> 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852, 

BY    FRANCIS    B  0  N  Y  N  G  E  , 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District 
ot  New  York. 


THE  unparalleled  progress  of  the  United  States  since  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  is  perhaps  the  grandest 
epoch  of  all  time.  The  power  and  grandeur  of  Rome, 
reached  after  centuries  of  toilsome  labor  and  protracted  con 
flicts,  has  been  more  than  equalled  in  the  short  space  of  ha  1* 
a  century,  and  the  past  is  but  a  bright  index  of  the  future. 

The  position  of  the  American  Union,  not  only  in  the  rela 
tions  of  this  country  to  the  whole  continent,  but  to  the  world, 
is  becoming  every  day  more  clearly  known  and  defined. 

The  elements  of  national  wealth  and  independence  are 
becoming1  every  day  of  increasing  importance,  and  as  an 
effort  to  indicate  to  the  people  of  the  American  Union  addi 
tional  sources  of  national  and  individual  wealth,  and  to  point 
the  eye  of  the  country  to  new  and  valuable  opportunities  for 
developing  the  national  industry,  this  volume  is  respectfully 
offered  to  the  public. 

The  discussion  is  divided  into  three  parts.  In  the  first 
part  I  have  endeavored  to  present  a  view  of  the  Cotton  and 
Rice  of  our  country,  and  to  show  the  necessity  of  introducing 
other  agricultural  staples  to  meet  the  increasing  wants  of 
America  and  of  the  world. 

In  the  second  part  is  contained  a  hisrory  of  the  Tea  trade, 
instructions  in  the  best  modes  of  cultivating  the  Tea  and 
indigo  plants,  and  their  manufacture,  with  a  variety  of  sta 
tistical  information  on  the  points  involved,  commercial  and 
agricultural. 

A  history  of  the  Opium  trade  is  presented  in  a  sub-division 
of  the  second  part. 

In  the  third,  and  concluding  portion  of  the  work,  the 
author  has  freely  and  candidly  stated  his  views  in  regard  to 


IV  PREFACE. 

the  present  and  future  of  America.  Having  had  extensive 
opportunities  of  observation  in  Great  Britain,  India,  China, 
and  the  United  States,  he  has  been  led  to  discuss  the  great 
interests  of  free  and  slave  labor,  as  they  present  themselves 
to  his  experience  and  his  convictions  ;  and  without  arrogating 
to  be  right,  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  he  defers  to  the  future 
the  correctness  of  his  judgment. 

While  the  author  does  not  wish  to  introduce  the  reader  to 
the  following  pages  with  an  affected  apology,  he  feels  called 
upon  to  say  that  should  the  work  be  found  not  to  abide  the 
test  of  literary  criticism,  he  desires  it  to  be  understood  that 
it  is  not  offered  to  the  public  with  such  a  purpose.  Having 
for  fourteen  years  spent  his  time  in  India  and  China,  the 
acquisition  and  constant  use  of  Hindostanee  or  Urdu,  the 
Bengalee  and  Tartar,  French  and  Italian  languages,  and  the 
consequent  disuse  of  his  mother  tongue,  have  served  to  pre 
vent  him  from  executing  the  work,  as  a  literary  effort,  in  a 
style  worthy  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved.  Yet, 
trusting  that  the  suggestions  and  facts  presented  will  be 
regarded  as  of  more  value  than  mere  literary  finish,  he  trusts 
that  they  will  be  attentively  considered. 

The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  this  work  will  be  used  in  in 
troducing  the  proposed  staples  into  this  country. 

The  author  returns  his  grateful  acknowledgments  to  the 
numerous  subscribers  for  this  work  who  have  so  cordially 
entered  into  the  objects  it  is  designed  to  promote  ;  and,  with 
out  invidiousness,  he  may  especially  mention  the  names  of 
the  following  distinguished  gentlemen  : — J.  F.  O'Hear,  Esq., 
Secretary  South  Carolina  Agricultural  Society  ;  James  Rose, 
Esq.,  President  R.  R.  Bank,  Charleston  ;  Hon.  John  Schnierle, 
Mayor,  Charleston  ;  Henry  Ravenel,  Esq.,  Charleston  ;  Hon. 
William  Aikin,  Charleston;  R.  R.  Cuyler,  Esq.,  President 
R.  R.  Bank,  Savannah ;  His  Excellency  Baron  Von  Jerrott, 
Prussian  Minister,  Washington ;  Dr.  Daniel  Lee,  Patent 
Office,  Washington ;  Messrs.  Tierman  &  Pringle,  Charleston  ; 
Edmond  Molyneux,  Esq.,  British  Consul,  Savannah ;  Messrs, 
Lobeck  &  Schepler,  New- York. 

NEW- YORK,  December  1,  1851. 


CONTENTS. 


Past  and  Present  of  the  Cotton  Trade,  and  Future  Prospects,     13 
Cotton  Planters'  Meeting  at  Leon.         .....     25 

Cotton  Planting  in  East  Indies,  ......  34 

lleview  of  the  Rice  Trade, 43 

Letters  of  Gentlemen  to  the  Author,  and  Editorial  Remarks,  48 
Prospectus  for  Introduction  of  Tea  Plant,  etc.,  and  List  of 

Subscribers  thereto,        .......     59 

Tea  Plant— Cultivation,  Statistics,  Trade— Soil  and  Climate 

of  America  and  China  compared,  .  .  .  .  .65 
Temperature  of  America  and  China  compared,  ,  .  .68 
Expense  of  Cultivating  and  Manufacturing  Tea  in  Assam,  .  69 
Expense  of  Cultivating  and  Manufacturing  Tea  in  Tartar 

Country, 72 

Probable  Expense  of  100  acres  in  America,  and  Returns,      .     73 
Expense  of  Cultivating  and  Manufacturing  Tea  in  China,      .     80 
State  of  the  Assamese,          .         .         .         .         .         .         .81 

State  of  the  Tartars  or  Singphoos,         .         .         .         .         .84 

Cultivation  of  Tea  in  Different  Countries,      .         .         .         .85 

Cause  of  the  Author's  Retirement  from  Tea  Planting,   .        .     87 
Kinds  of  Tea  Plants  in  Different  Countries,  .         .         .         .97 

Difficulty  of  getting  good  Tea  Seeds  from  China,  .  .  .102 
Geographical  Extent  of  Tea  Cultivation  in  China,  .  .104 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Topography  of  China,  ........  105 

Adulteration  of  Tea  in  China, .110 

Prices  Obtained  by  the  Chinese  Planter,  .  .  .  .113 
Present  Extent  of  the  Use  of  Tea,  and  Probable  Consumption 

in  Future,      .        .         .         .        .         .        .         .         .115 

State  of  Trade  between  China  and  England,  and  America 

and  China, 123 

Cultivation  of  Tea  in  America  would  benefit  England,  .  .  120 
Indigo  Cultivation  and  Manufacture  in  India  and  America,  .  130 
Process  of  Cultivation  and  Manufacture,  ....  141 

Date  Tree.  Phoenix  Sylvestris, 143 

Coffee  Plant, 144 

Mango,  Leechee,  Jack  Fruit,  Guava,  Orange,  Lime,  Citron, 

Indian  Gooseberry  and  Nutmeg  Trees,  ....  149 
Bamboo  and  Cane,  and  the  Indian  Kubber,  Kia  Putty  Oil 

Tree,  Black  Gum  Tree,  .         .         .         .  .         .156 

Joint  Grasses,  Cereals,  Pulses,  Oil  Seeds,  etc..       .         .        .159 

Elephants,  etc.,  and  Feathered  Tribe,    .         .         .         .         .161 

Opium  Trade,  Effects  on  Trade  and  on  Life, ....  167 

Present  and  Future  of  the  United  States,      ....  187 

Slavery — Effects  of  Emancipation  ;  Slavery  in  England,  etc.,  192 
Are  the  People  of  America  Anglo-Saxons  ?.         .         .         .212 

United  States'  Place  in  America.  .  .231 


AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,    vii 


TABLE  A.      POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Whites. 

Slaves. 

Free  Colored. 

Total. 

1830, 

10,526,246 

2,008,043 

320,596 

1840, 

14,189,108 

2,487^213 

386,245 

1850, 

19,668,736 

3,179,589 

419,173 

23,267,498 

1860, 

26,552,793 

3,910,894 

482,049 

30,945,736 

1870, 

34,518,630 

4.810,399 

554,356 

39,883,385 

1880, 

43,148,287 

5,916,790 

637,508 

49,702,585 

1890, 

53,935,358 

7,277,651 

733,134 

61,946,143 

1900. 

67,419,197 

9,051,510 

843,104 

77,313,811 

1910, 

84,273,996 

11,133,351 

969,579 

96,376,928 

1920, 

105,342,495 

13,694,029 

1,115,015 

120,151.539 

1930, 

131,678,119 

16,843,655 

1,282,267 

149,80<041 

1940, 

164,597,646 

20,717,695 

1,474,607 

186,789,948 

1950, 

205,747,060 

25,482,764 

1,695,798 

232,925.622 

1960, 

257,183,825 

31,343,799 

1,960,167 

290',487,781 

1970, 

321,479,781 

38,553,872 

2,242.692 

362,276,345 

1980, 

401,849,726 

47,421,262 

2,079,095 

451,850,064 

1990, 

502,312,157 

58,328,252 

2,965,959 

563,606,368 

2000, 

627,890,296 

71,743,749 

^410,852 

703,044,897 

Whites  are  estimated  to  increase  up  to  1860,  at  the  rate  of  35 
per  cent. ;  up  to  1870,  30  per  cent. ;  from  1870,  25  per  cent.  ; 
Slaves,  from  1850,  23  per  cent.  Free  Colored,  from  1850,  15  per 
cent. 

Had  the  Slave  been  calculated  at  28  per  cent,  which  is  near 
their  average  rate  of  increase,  it  would  make  them,  in  the  year 
2000,  128,126,630,  more  than  1  to  every  5  whites. 


TABLE  B.      AREA  AND  POPULATION. 


Free  States. 

Sq.  miles. 

Sq.  acres. 

Free. 

Maine, 

35,000 

22,400,000 

582,026 

New-Hampshire, 

8,000 

5,139,000 

318,003 

Massachusetts, 

7,250 

4,640,000 

994,724 

Rhode  Island, 

1,200 

768,000 

147,549 

Vermont, 

8,000 

5,120,000 

314,322 

Connecticut, 

4,750 

3,040,000 

370.913 

New-York, 

46,000 

29,440,000 

3,098^818 

New-Jersey, 

6,851 

4,384,640 

489,868 

Pennsylvania, 

47,000 

30,080,000 

2,341,204 

Ohio, 

39,964 

25,576,960 

1,981,940 

Indiana, 

33,809 

21,637,760 

990,258 

Illinois, 

55,405 

35,459,200 

850,000 

Michigan, 

56,243 

35,995,520 

397,576 

Iowa, 

50,914 

32,584,960 

192,000 

Wisconsin, 

53,924 

34,511,360 

305,596 

Slaves. 


52 


Total  Free  States,      454,340     290,777,600 


52 


Viii  AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  TIfE  UNITED  STATES. 


Slave  States. 

Sq.  miles. 

Sq.  acres. 

Free. 

Slaves. 

Delaware, 

2,120 

1,356,800 

90,277 

2,332 

Maryland, 

11,000 

7,040,000 

492,661 

90,355 

Virginia, 

61,352 

39,265,280 

940.000 

460,000 

North  Carolina, 

45,500 

29,120,000 

480,000 

280,000 

South  Carolina, 

28,000 

17,920,000 

280,000 

350,000 

Georgia, 

58,000 

37,120,000 

555,000 

365,000 

Kentucky, 

37,680 

24,115,200 

782,000 

211,000 

Tennessee, 

44,000 

28,160,000 

800,000 

250,000 

Louisiana, 

46,431 

29,715,840 

250,000 

200,000 

Mississippi, 

47.147 

30,174,080 

300,000 

320,000 

Alabama, 

50,722 

32,462,080 

440,000 

330.000 

Missouri, 

67,380 

43,123,200 

590.000 

91,547 

Arkansas, 

52.108 

33.406,720 

150,000 

45,000 

Florida, 

59,268 

37,931,520 

45,000 

22,000 

Total  Slave  States, 

610,798 

390.910,720 

Texas, 

325,520 

208,332,800 

100,000 

50,000 

Oregon, 

341,463 

218.536,320 

California, 

448,691 

287,162,240 

200,000 

New-Mexico, 

77,387 

49,527,680 

Territory  N.  W.  of  J 
the  Mississippi,    $ 

723,248 

462.878,720 

Terr.  W.  Ark.  and  J 

Missouri,  &  S.   > 

248,851 

159,264,640 

Platte  River,       ) 

Old  N.  W.  Terr.    ) 

E.  Miss.  R.  and  S- 

22,336 

636,438,400 

N.  Wisconsin,    ) 

Total  Territory,      3,252,684 

2,081,717,76 

The  total  number  of  inhabitants  is  23,267,498,  of  which  thB 
Slaves  are  3,179,589,  and  Free  Colored,  419,173. 


SLAVE   LABOR. 


TABLE     C.        SLAVE     LABOR. 

Of  one  hundred  negro  children  born,  there  die,  say  under 

1  year,     -  21*64 

5    "                           -  16-78 

10    "         -         -  3-79 

20    ------  7-52 

30    ------  9-13 

40    <(        ------  7-94 

50    u         -----  8-43 

60    a         -----  6-85 

70    u         -----  6-20 

80    "         -  4-81 

90    "  4-32 

100    "         -  1-76 

upwards  of  100,           -        -        -  70* 


Say  21-64  of  the  infants  who  died  before  one  year,  lived  on  an 
average  three  months,  and  had  to  be  supported  for  that  three 
months  ;  and  as  many  mothers  were  also  taken  away  from  labor 
at  least  for  three  months  prior  to  and  after  confinement. 

Therefore,  say  one  hundred  mothers  were  taken  away  from 
manual  labor  for  three  months,  that  would  average  for  one  year 
twenty-five  persons,  and  21-64  children  for  three  months,  for  a 
year,  =  5-41.  Therefore, 

Mothers  who  did  not  work  and  were  supported  one  year,  25 

21-64  infants  died  before  one  year,         -  5-41 

16'78  children  died  before  five  years,     -  83-90 

3-79  children  died  before  ten  years,        -  37-90 

57-79  survived  ten  years  and  did  not  work,             -        -  577  80 
7 '52  young  people  died  before  twenty,  averaging,  say 

five  years  from  the  ten  years  already  calculated,  37*60 
50-26  survived  twenty  years,  and  were  supported  an 

additional  ten  years,      ----__  502-60 

*  From  the  Censut  of  Charleston. 


X  SLAVE   LABOR. 

Of  these,  9'13  died  before  thirty,  averaging,  say  five 

years  from  the  twentieth  year  already  calculated,  -  45-65 

41-13  survived  thirty  years,  and  were  supported  an  ad 
ditional  ten  years,  _____  411-30 

Of  these,  7-94  died  before  forty,  averaging,  as  above,  five 

years,  ________  39-70 

33-19  survived  forty,  supported  an  additional  ten  years,      331-90 

Of  these,  8-43  died  before  fifty,  averaging,  as  above,  say 

five  years,  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -41*15 

24-66  survived  fifty,  supported  an  additional  ten  years,        246-66 

Of  these,  6-85  died  before  sixty,  average  support  five 

years,  34-25 

17-91  survived  sixty,  supported  an  additional  ten  years,       179-10 

Of  these,  6-32  died  before  seventy,  average  support  five 

years,  31-60 

11-59  survived  seventy,  supported  an  additional  ten 

years,  115-90 

Of  these,  4-81  died  before  eighty,  average  support  five 

years,  -  2405 

6-78  survived  eighty,  supported  an  additional  ten  years,        67*80 

Of  these,  4  32  died  before  ninety,  average  support,  for 

them,  -  21-60 

2-46  survived  ninety,  supported  an  additional  ten  years,       24-60 

Total  number  of  years'  support  of  the  one  hundred  in 
fants,  from  birth  until  the  last  died,  -  2865-02 

Number  out  of  one  hundred  infants  who  reached  years  of  ma 
turity,  and  the  work  they  did  from  birth  to  the  end  of  the  last 
remaining  one's  life : 
7-52  died  between  ten  and  twenty  ;  these,  of  course,  did 

some  work,  say  on  an  average  they  worked  five 

years  in  the  ten — average  worked  for  one  year,  -  37*60 
50-26  survived  twenty  years;  labored  for  ten  years,  say  502-60 
9*13  died  before  thirty,  averaging,  say  five  years'  work 

each,  ______       45*65 

41-13  survived  thirty,  and  labored  for  an  additional  ten 

years,  -        -         -         -         -        -         -         -     411-30 


SLAVE    LABOR.  XI 

7-94  died  before  forty,  averaging,  say  five  years'  work 

each,  -  -  39-70 

33-19  survived  forty,  and  labored  for  an  additional  ten 

years,  -  -  331-90 

8-43  died  before  fifty,  averaging,  say  five  years'  work 

each,  -  -  42  15 

24-76  survived  fifty,  and  labored  for  an  additional  ten 

years,  -  247  60 

6'85  died  before  sixty,  averaging,  say  five  years'  labor,  34'25 
17-91  survived  sixty,  and  labored  for  an  additional  ten 

years,  --_____-     179-10 


Total  number  of  years'  labor   performed  by  the  one 

hundred  infants,    -  -         -  1876-85 

From  which  deduct  one-seventh  for  Sundays,  -         -     268-12 

Deduct  one-tenth  for  sickness,  187-68 

Total  years' labor,  -1421-05 

Number  of  years'  support  of  the  one  hundred,  through 
out  their  term  of  life,  from  birth  till  the  last  drop 
ped  into  the  grave,  -  2865*02 

Number  of  years'  labor  performed  by  the  one  hundred 

infants,  1421-05 

Number  of  days  supported.  1,045,732 

Number  of  days  worked,  518,683 

Or  as  one,  to  two,  nearly,  of  days  worked  to  days  supported. 

Therefore,  as  one  slave  costs  fifty  cents  per  week,  two 

will  cost,  $1  00 

Life  insurance,  say    $400  each  at  say  three  per  cent. 

per  annum,   -------_          23 

Medical  charges  per  week,  say,      -----  7 

Total  per  week,  say, $1  30 

Or  for  six  working  days,  twenty-one  cents  and  two-thirds  per 
diem. 


Xll 


EMIGRATION    FROM   ENGLAND. 


EMIGRATION  FROM 


BRITISH 


RETURNS. 

North  American 

United       Austra'ian  Colonies      All  other 

Colonies. 

States.         and  New  Zealand.         places. 

Total. 

1825,              8,741 

5,551               485               114 

14,891 

1826,            12,818 

7,063                 903               116- 

20,900 

1827,            12,648 

14,526                715               114 

28,003 

1828,             12,084 

12,817             1,056               135 

26,092 

1829,            13,307 

15,678             2,016               197 

31,198 

1830,            30,574 

24,887             1,242               204 

56,907 

1831,            58,067 

23,418             1,561               114 

83,160 

1832,            66,339 

32,872             3,733               196 

103,140 

1833,            28,808 

29,109             4,093               517 

62,527 

1834,            40,060 

33,074             2,800               288 

76,222 

1835,            15,573 

26,720             1,860               325 

44,478 

1836,            34,226 

37,774             3,124               293 

75,417 

1837,           29,884 

36,770             5,054               326 

72,034 

1838,              4,577 

14,332           14,021               292 

33,222 

1839,            12,658 

33,536           15,786              227 

62,207 

1840,            32,293 

40,642           15,856            1,958 

90,743 

1841,            38,164 

45^117           32,625            2,786 

118,592 

1842,            54,123 

63,852             8,534            1,835 

128,344 

1843,            23,518 

28,335             3,478            1,881 

57,212 

1844,            22,924 

43,666             2,229            1,873 

70,686 

1845,            31.803 

58,538                830            2,330 

93,501 

1846,            43^439 

82,239             2,347            1,826 

129,851 

1847,          109,680 

142,154             4,947            1,487 

258,276 

1848,            31,065 

214,132           23,904            4,887 

248,088 

1849,            41,367 

219,450           32,091            6,590 

299,499 

1850,            32,961 

223,078           16,037            8,773 

280,849 

841,701      1 

,483,325         ^01,323           39.684 

2,622,617 

IMMIGRATION   INTO   THE    UNITED    STATES,    ACCORDING 

TO 

AMERICAN   RETURNS. 

1843.                              184<». 

1850. 

Ireland, 

98,061        -         112,691 

116,583 

Germany, 

51,973        -          55,700 

45,404 

England, 

23,062        -          28,321 

28,131 

Scotland, 

6,080        -            8,400 

6,771 

Wales, 

1,782 

1,520 

Total  immigration 

into  the  States  : 

1821  to  1831, 

14,000         1838  to  1842, 

76,000 

1832, 

45,000                       1843, 

75,000 

1833, 

56,000                      1844, 

74,000 

1834, 

65,000                      1845, 

102,000 

1835, 

53,000                       1846, 

147,000 

1836, 

62,000                       1847, 

234,742 

1837, 

78,000                       1848, 

229,492 

AGRICULTURAL  AND  COMMERCIAL 
STAPLES 


OF  AND  FOR 

AMERICA 


PAST  AND  PRESENT  STATE   OF  THE   COTTON  TRADE 
AND  FUTURE   PROSPECTS. 

MY  subject  is  one  of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  United 
States,  both  morally  and  in  regard  to  their  material  pros 
perity.  I  aim  at  bringing  round  a  reformation,  which  I 
shall  show  to  be  of  the  highest  importance  to  this  and 
all  other  countries.  In  the  following  pages,  were  I  to 
labor  to  produce  conviction,  simply  by  authority  of  names, 
however  respected,  and  of  probabilities,  however  plaus 
ible,  it  would  be  to  present  the  question  in  such  condition 
as  to  excite  endless  disputation,  and  leave  men  in  doubt. 
Therefore,  I  shall  state  facts,  derived  from  long  personal 
experience,  and  from  historical  data ;  and  these  facts, 
derived  from  those  two  sources,  conjointly  shall,  I  fear 
not,  successfully  appeal  to  the  practical  good  sense  of  my 
readers. 

In  my  endeavors  to  promote  the  welfare  of  America, 
and  the  cause  of  humanity  all  over  the  world,  I  will  con 
fine  myself  to  the  simple  relations  of  actual  state  of 
things,  to  show  the  pressing  necessities  of  a  comprehen 
sive  adaptation  of  other  articles  of  Agriculture  and  Com- 


14  AGRiCTLTL'llAL   ASD   C024M.KECIAL 

merce,  for  the  exercise  of  the  industry  and  skill  of  the 
vastly  and  rapidly  increasing  children  of  America  ;  and 
to  afford  to  all  countries,  through  their  agency,  genuine 
articles,  and  at  comparative  low  prices — articles  that 
have  become  necessaries  of  life,  and  that  will  tend  to 
promote  not  only  the  prosperity  and  comfort  of  all,  but 
promote  temperance  and  sobriety.  And,  in  appealing  to 
every  class  of  American  citizens,  I  will  at  once  pass  on 
to  the  following,  to  show  the  necessity  of  the  introduction 
of  other  staples  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce  than  those 
already  existing. 

In  a  country  situated  as  America  is,  if  her  people  sit 
down  in  contentment  with  the  events  of  yesterday,  and 
with  the  state  of  things  in  times  gone  by,  and  will  not 
look  forward  to  the  wants  of  to-morrow,  or  the  future,  of 
themselves  and  their  posterity,  adieu  to  American  great 
ness,  adieu  to  the  advancement  of  civilization  within  her 
shores.  "  Plant  a  tree,  dig  a  well,"  says  the  Shaster 
(a  Bible)  of  the  Hindoos,  u  for  your  children's  use  ;  these 
are  among  the  great  works  of  charity."  And  in  like 
manner  are  we  bound  to  look  beyond  the  span  of  our 
existence,  and  bequeath  to  our  successors  increasing 
means  of  happiness,  in  keeping  with  the  wants  of  an 
unparalleled  increasing  population.  Our  predecessors 
provided  for  us ;  so,  in  like  manner,  it  is  our  duty  to  do 
all  we  can  for  the  rising  generation.  Or  are  we  to  die 
and  leave  no  other  monument  to  witness  our  virtues  but 
that  cold  and  too  often  lying  marble  slab  erected  over  our 
miserable  clay? 

The  great  staples  of  exports,  cotton  and  rice,  &c.,  are 
at  a  dead  stand  in  respect  to  the  quantity  that  may  be 
produced,  and  if  not  receding,  will  recede  from  the  pre- 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOli   AMERICA.  15 

sent  amount  produced.  In  value  they  have  fallen  to  a 
very  low  figure. 

Look  back  to  the  time  prior  to  the  introduction  of 
cotton  and  rice.  What  was  the  condition  then  of  the 
people  ?  Was  it  not  a  general  struggle  for  an  humble 
subsistence  1  Had  not  cotton  and  rice,  £c.,  been  intro 
duced,  what  would  be  the  state  of  the  United  States  to 
day  1  WTould  her  wealth  or  her  population  be  to  what  they 
now  are  ?  These  products  aided  to  advance  the  pros 
perity  and  raise  these  States  to  great  eminence ;  and 
sixty  years  of  peace,  progress,  and  agricultural  pros 
perity  have  placed  the  United  States  of  America  in  the 
proudest  position.  Will  Americans  rest  content  with 
past  achievements  ?  Her  staples  of  production  were  all- 
sufficient  for  the  profitable  employment  of  her  population 
heretofore  :  these  staples  are,  if  not  falling  oif  in  quan 
tity,  very  much  reduced  in  value  ;  while  the  population 
is  increasing  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  and  the  extent 
of  land  called  into  cultivation  is  spread  from  one  sea  to 
the  other. 

Cotton  and  rice  were  golden  mines,  and  all-sufficient 
for  their  time,  and,  left  to  the  support  of  the  few,  would 
go  on  enriching  them  to  the  end  of  time  ;  but  let  a  great 
and  numerous  people  place  their  dependence  on  them 
alone  and  they  will  become  exhausted,  and  want,  idle 
ness  and  misery  must  be  the  consequences. 

The  present  products  of  America  were  all-sufficient 
to  the  state  of  things  some  twenty  years  ago,  but  to 
day's  greatly  increased  numbers,  require  something 
more.  And  if  nothing  additional  be  forthcoming  things 
must  retrograde;  and  America's  future  be  a  grievous 
history. 


16 


AGKICULTUKAL   AND   COMMERCIAL 


Georgia,  -     -     - 
South  Carolina, 
Alabama,       -     - 
Mississippi,    -     - 
Louisiana,     -    - 
Arkansas,      -     - 
Missouri,       -     - 
Texas,      -     -     - 

1820. 
348,989 
502,741 
127,901 
75,448 
153,407 

a 

66,586 

a 

'30. 
516,567 
581,185 
308,997 
136,806 
218,575 
30,388 
140,074 

« 

'40. 
691,392 
594,398 
590,756 
375,641 
352,411 
97,574 
383,762 
u 

Look  to  the  progressive  increase  of  the  population  for 
the  last  thirty  years,  and  mark,  that  the  reduction  in  the 
value  of  cotton  is  commensurate  with  that  increase.  For 
brevity,  take  only  the  eight  following  states,  or  for  the 
exercise  of  individual  calculation,  the  table,  given  at  the 
end  hereof  of  all  the  states  : 

'50. 

920,000 
630,000 
777,000 
620.000 
450,000 
195,000 
631,000 
150,000 

Total,  8  States,    1,275,072  1,932,592  3,085,944  4,373,000 
Increase  from  1820  to  '30— 51 1  per  cent.     Yearly,  5^ 
"  '30  to '40— 59i       «  «        Q" 

'40  to  '50—47"  "        4^- 

Or  in  30  years  the  population  multiplied  itself  3£ 
times.  Placing  in  view,  the  progressive  increase  of  cot 
ton  for  the  same  period  of  30  years. 

From  1820  to  '30,  -  6,509,587  bales. 

"        '30  to  '40,  -  -  13,680,004     " 

"        '40  to  '50,  -  -  21,178,128     '; 

Increase  from  1820  to  '30  over  preceding  10  years 

"  "  '30  to  '40  "    '  108} 

"  "  '40  to  '50  "  "         54-j-g 

a  falling  off  in  progressive  increase  of  54 Is  per  cent., — but 
probably  in  the  next  ten  years  there  will  be  no  increase 
over  the  last  ten.  To  ascertain  how  long  the  production 
has  been  at  a  stand  still,  let  the  above  be  divided  into 
periods  of  five  years. 


STAPLES   OF   AND    FOR   AMERICA.  17 

1820  to  '20—  2,315,998 

'25  to  '30—  4,293,589  Increase,  85 §  per  cent,  compared  with 
preceding  5  yrs.,  yearly  17  per  cent. 

'30  to  '35—  5.556,485  "          30  per  cent.    "        6         " 

'35  to  '40—  8,123,520  "          46£     "           "        9         " 

'40  to  '45—10,122,306  "          24|      "           "        5         " 

'45  to '50— 11,052,822  "            9^     "           "        2  nearly. 

This  shows  that  the  produce  is  nearly  stationary  for 
the  last  ten  years.  In  fact,  if  the  above  time  had  been 
divided  into  periods  of  six  years  instead  of  five,  it  would 
show  as  follows : 

From  1826  to  '32,  increase  per  cent.,  compared  with  preceding 

six  years. 

'32  to  '38       "      45         "        or  yearly  7£  per  cent, 
'38  to '44       «      46fV     "  "       7f 

'44  to  '50       "        71       "  only,  or  "       1^       "  only. 

So  it  may  be  said  that  the  production  of  cotton  in 
America  has  not  increased  materially  for  twelve  years — 
there  has  been  only  an  increase  of  160,000  bales  yearly, 
for  the  last  six  years,  over  the  former  six. 

If  the  above  time  be  divided  into  two  periods  of  twelve 
years  it  will  be  found  the  price  of  cotton  was  follows  : 

From  1826  to  '38  121  cent.  per  Ib. 

'38  to  '50  8}$    "         " 

showing  a  falling  off  of  29  per  cent  in  value. 

Taking  the  total  value  in  dollars  as  follows,  viz  : 

From  1820  to  '25—2,316,900  bales  a  cent,  per  Ib.  $ 

"        '25  to '30— 4,293,589     "     a     10         "  $171,743,200 

"        '30  to  '35—5,556,500     "     a     11^     "  263,378,000 

"        '35  to  '40— 8,123',500     "     a     12££     "  408,494,800 

"        '40  to  '45-10,122,300     "     a       7f       "  307,717,600 

'45  to '50-11,053,000     "     a      8}°5     "  333,170,400 


18  AGRICULTURAL   AND   COMMERCIAL 

Since  the  year  '39,  the  cotton  crop  is  comparatively 
stationary  in  quantity ;  and  it  is  seen  that  the  cotton 
crop  realized  more  in  dollars  for  five  years — from  '35  to 
'40 — than  it  has  in  the  two  following  periods,  that  is 
from  '40  to  '45,  and  from  '45  to  '50.  Therefore,  if  the 
population  be  taken  at  the  period  of  '35  of  the  same  eight 
States,  it  will  be  found,  while  the  amount  of  dollars  re 
alizable  has  fallen  off  in  the  two  last  periods  from  the 
first  in  the  amounts  of  $100,723,040  and  $25,324,400, 
that  the  population  has  increased  from  2,466,528  to 
4,373,000 — increase,  1,956,000  persons  :  wherefore,  so 
far  as  cotton  goes,  there  has  been  a  decline  in  the  last 
ten  years  of  $126,047,440,  compared  with  the  former 
five  ;  therefore  the  means  that  four  persons  enjoyed  from 
'35  to  '40,  has  been  diminished  one-sixth  by  lowness  of 
price,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  to  divide  that 
diminished  means  with  three  other  persons  ;  and  this  de 
crease  is  in  the  UNITED  STATES  ONE  GREAT  STAPLE  ! 
This  is  a  bad  state  of  things  ;  and  young  people  have 
now  little  opening  for  their  energy  and  abilities  :  and 
young  men  must  necessarily  rush  into  every  desperate 
undertaking  that  holds  out  to  them  any  dim  prospect  of 
support ;  if  not,  to  pass  their  best  days  in  the  miserable 
professional  look-out  for  a  brief,  a  patient,  or  some  official 
employment,  to  afford  them  a  poor  pittance. 

Therefore,  this  all-important  staple — cotton — admits 
of  no  further  immediate  increase  for  the  employment  of 
additional  hands.  Are  they  then  to  turn  to  rice  cultiva 
tion  ;  that  has  receded  both  in  quantity  and  in  price 
already;  or  to  sugar  cultivation,  that,  too,  will  be  found 
very  precarious,  and  it  requires  the  best  lands  *?  To 
manufacturing, — is  it  rational  to  advise  some  22,000,000 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FGK   AMEKICA.  19 

of  people,  thinly  scattered  over  the  mighty  area  of  4,375,- 
000  miles,  to  turn  spinners  and  weavers,  and  machine- 
makers,  &c.  ?  What  would  support  them  1  The  legiti 
mate  field  for  American  industry  is  the  American  soil. 

It  is  said  Texas  has  the  best  soil  in  the  Union.  Let 
the  population  of  the  eight  States  named,  having  to  day 
4,373,000  souls,  increase  at  the  rate  of  20  per  cent.,  (I 
put  it  down  at  20  per  cent.,  because,  without  other  staples 
for  cultivation,  the  Southern  States  cannot  progress  ; 
they  have  run  their  tether's  length  in  cotton  and  rice, 
and  labor  will  yearly  become  of  less  value),  in  every  10 
years,  their  population  would  be,  in  2010,  or  160  years 
hence,  81,856,000  souls.  Therefore,  if  4,373,000  are 
obliged  to  share  among  them  that  property  in  its  dimi 
nished  state,  which  2,466,000  enjoyed  some  10  to  15 
years  ago,  what  will  be  done  with  the  population  when 
doubled,  which,  instead  of  40  years,  may  be  in  20  years 
more  1  While  the  population  of  all  the  States  is  in 
creasing  without  parallel  in  its  rapidity,  the  exports 
of  America  are  far  behind  all  moderate  expectation, 
and  all  the  promises  of  antecedents.  Is  there  a  super 
abundant  population  in  America,  that  an  opening  must 
be  made  for  employment  by  entering  into  a  hard  struggle 
with  all  the  world,  and  that  world's  cheap  labor  ?  In 
160  years  hence,  the  eight  States  named  may  have  a 
population  of  81,000,000,  and,  at  that  distant  period,  the 
whole  population  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Missouri  and  Texas, 
would  but  sufficiently  populate  Texas  alone,  leaving  not 
a  soul  in  the  other  seven  States  ! 

Cotton  has  done  wonders  for  America  ;  but  everything 
will  get  old.  The  cotton  States  themselves  complain  that 


20  AGRICULTURAL   AND  COMMERCIAL 

the  land  yields  them  nearly  one-third  less  produce,  and 
it  is  seen  it  sells  for  one- third  less  price.  Therefore,  let 
people  who  are  anxious  for  the  onward  prosperous  course 
of  this  dear  land  of  freedom  and  industry,  look  around 
them — let  them  inquire  what  is  going  on  in  other  coun 
tries — let  them  ask  themselves,  is  there  no  possibility  of 
competitors  to  arise,  and  to  cope  with  America  ?  and  in 
making  these  inquiries,  let  no  American  say  there  is  no 
soil,  no  climate,  no  people  to  equal  American  soil,  cli 
mate  and  people.  No  man  can  inquire  aright  with  such 
feelings.  The  General  who  holds  his  adversary  in  contempt 
is  most  likely  to  be  overcome.  I  say  there  is  danger, 
and  I  say  so  from  actual  knowledge  of  other  countries, 
from  my  visit  to  them  ;  and  I  say  distinctly,  it  is  not 
the  want  of  suitable  soil,  climate,  and  cheap  labor,  that 
has  left  the  cotton  trade  so  largely  in  the  hands  of 
America. 

Look  to  the  East — Smyrna  and  Egypt  are  arising  from 
the  sleep  of  ages,  and  their  export  of  cotton  has  increased 
threefold  the  last  three  .years.  Even  railroads  are  now 
making.  The  Emperor  of  Constantinople  is  exerting 
himself  to  the  utmost,  and  this  year  has  been  distributing 
seeds  to  his  subjects.  The  French  are  alive  at  Algiers. 
In  Brazil,  cotton  cultivation  is  extending.  The  West 
Indies  are  doing  a  little.  East  India  is  advancing 
rapidly.  Well,  America  may  laugh  at  the  idea  of  Egypt 
and  Smyrna,  or  Brazils,  or  West  Indies,  &c.,  &c.,  mono 
polizing  the  cotton  trade ;  but  it  is  well  to  remember  each 
will  do  a  little,  and  that  little  is  increasing,  and,  as  the 
Scotchman  would  say,  "  every  little  makes  a  muckle." 

Shipments  to  England  from  the  following  places  in 
1850,  were— 


STAPLES  OF  AND   FOR  AMERICA.  21 

BALES. 

West  Indies,  75,087 

Brazils,  171,322 

Smyrna  and  Egypt,  -  79,505 

America,       -  -       1,182,656 

East  Indies,  -  369,220 

Therefore,  these  countries  export  more  than  one-half 
as  much  as  America  to  England,  and  they  export  also  to 
other  countries  than  England.  And,  as  will  be  shown, 
while  America  is  nearly  stationary  for  the  last  years,  that 
the  above  countries  have  gradually  increased. 

15.  The  cultivation  in  America  is  in  its  senile  years  ; 
in  the  above  countries  it  is  in  its  infancy — that  is,  in  some, 
and  in  others  in  their  lately  renewed  efforts ;  and  they, 
taken   together,   are  even  now  formidable   rivals,  and 
America  will   have  to   struggle   hard.      But  as  far  as 
East  India  is  concerned,  it  would  not  be  the  least  sur 
prising  if  she  monopolized  altogether  the  cotton  markets 
in  a  few  years  hence.     That  she  can  do  so  there  is  no 
doubt;  that  she  has  not  done  so  under  the  half-dozen 
planters  who  the  East  India  Company  have  taken  out 
there  from  Georgia,  is  no  evidence  to  the  contrary.    The 
cause  of  the  failure  is  one  to  be  accounted  for ;    the 
planting  in  the  East  is  below  20  degrees  of  N.  latitude% 
All  Southerns  know  that  it  will  not  even  do  well   low 
down  in  Florida,  and  that  the  cultivation  is  northwards 
of  the  27  deg.  to  36  deg.  N.  latitude. 

16.  It  is  wished  to  keep  up  the  price  of  cotton  to  121  cts. 
per  Ib.     There  is  only  one  way  to  do  it,  viz. — to  prevail 
upon  Egypt  and  Smyrna,  Brazils  and  East  India,  to  fall 
back  to  that  position  they  held  in  the  cotton  market  in 
1838 — to    agree  amongst  your  own  States  to  produce 


22  AGRICULTURAL   AND  COMMERCIAL 

900,000  bales  yearly  less  than  you  have  clone  for  the  last 
12  years ;  that  is,  from  1838  to  1850.  Do  this,  and  then 
you  will  get  12^  cents  per  Ib. 

17.  In  support  of  this  statement,  I  offer  the  following : 

From  1827  to  1838  inclusive,  12  years'  produce,  was 

14,048,000  bales,  at  12 t    cents  per  Ib.,  $567,890,400 
"      1839  to  1850  inclusive,  12  years'  produce,  was 

25,545,000  bales,  at   8j-|  cents  per  Ib.,  $635,162,000 

The  over  produce  for  12  years  is 

11,497,000  bales,  and  difference  in  price,   $67,271,700 

Giving  for  that  over  produce  about  1|  cents  per  Ib. 
Therefore,  if  America  falls  back  to  a  yearly  average 
produce  of  1,170,000  bales,  and  the  above  countries  enter 
into  arrangements  as  aforesaid,  she  will  succeed  in  the 
wishes  of  her  planters. 

18.  Let  cotton  committees,  who  rack  their  brains  in 
order  to  find  a  loop  hole  in  nature's  laws  to  effect  im 
possibilities,  continue  to  go  on  with  over  production,  and 
keep  up  the  prices  forsooth,  build  sheds  to  store  it  away 
from  the  purchaser  !    Would  it  not  be  more  safely  stored 
away  from  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  or  a  million  of 
bales  to  be  burned  yearly  ?     It  would  puzzle  the  pur 
chaser.     But  if  3,000,000  of  bales  are  to  be  produced,  as 
it  is  supposed  there  yearly  will  be,  then  there  will  be 
1,830,000  to  be  destroyed  some  way.     I  remember  when 
the  East  India  British   Company  and  England  was  at 
war   with  China,  enthusiasts  laid   before   the  wonder 
ing   world,  that   if  China's   360,000,000,    would    only 
wear   a   night   cap   each,   it  would   employ  England's 
30,000,000  to  weave  them.     But  the  Chinese,  stubborn 
people,  would  not  wear  more  red  night  caps  than  usual ; 


STAPLES   OF   AXD    FOR   AMERICA.  23 

and  that  grand  hope  has  been  dissipated.  But  it  maybe 
well  asked,  why  produce  at  all  any  quantity  that  must  bo 
kept  behind  doors  from  the  purchaser  ?  Let  any  arti 
ficial  means  be  resorted  to,  and  it  would  have  the  effect 
of  driving  purchasers  from  America,  and  enlist  their  best 
exertions  to  promote  the  growth  of  cotton  in  other  places. 
Any  such  artificial  means  would  be  suicidal  to  the  best 
interest  of  these  States ;  and  they  who  would  attempt 
such  would  be  the  best  friends  to  Brazils,  East  India, 
and  Egypt.  Raise  the  price  of  cotton  from  8  to  12J  cents 
per  lb.,  and  a  premium  is  held  out  of  4*  cents  per  Ib.  to 
all  other  countries,  for  every  pound  they  may  produce. 
There  is  no  breaking  through  nature's  laws  ;  they  are 
like  water,  depressed  in  one  part  they  rise  up  in  another. 
It  is  extraordinary  that  instead  of  these  crude  and 
dangerous  schemes  there  are  none  to  turn  their  attention 
to  some  practical  means  of  opening  legitimate  fields  for 
the  employment  of  the  industry  of  the  people.  Why 
will  no  one  ask  what  are  the  articles  we  import,  and 
make  an  endeavor  to  render  their  country  independent  of 
foreign  aid  ?  But  alas  !  there  are  few,  if  any  ;  and  for 
one  inquirer  there  ever  will  be  a  hundred  thousand 
schemers.  The  one  say,  if  we  produce  everything  for 
ourselves  there  will  be  no  commerce  !  And  such  a  one 
would  advocate  the  extraordinary  roundabout  way,  that 
it  is  better  to  produce  a  superfluity  of  one  material,  and 
be  obliged  to  carry  it  from  the  place  of  its  growth  to 
the  most  distant  ports  of  the  world  ;  and  then  to  import, 
from  the  most  distant  ports,  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  &c.  ;  and 
thus  surcharge  these  agricultural  staples  with  a  whole 
posse  of  ship  builders,  sawyers,  carpenters,  painters, 
seamen,  agents,  and  retailers,  all  of  whom  could  earn  a 


24  AGRICULTURAL   AND. COMMERCIAL 

more  certain  support  in  being  employed  in  a  productive 
pursuit.  All  these  become  a  heavy  tax  on  the  produc 
tive  population.  There  must  always  be  merchants,  and 
the  more  articles  there  will  be  produced,  the  more  mer 
chants  will  be  benefited.  But  to  say  we  must  take  silk, 
tea,  coffee,  &c.,  from  China,  when  we  can  produce  them 
for  less  than  one-fifth  the  expense  of  importing  them,  ia 
folly. 

But  besides  the  wisdom  of  our  producing  these  things 
ourselves,  there  is  another  reason  to  urge  us  to  do  so, 
viz :  to  suppress  one  of  the  vilest  and  most  fiendish 
trades  that  could  be  invented  or  suggested  by  the  com 
mon  enemy  of  the  human  race.  I  mean  that  foul,  accursed 
opium  trade,  which  is  fast  demoralizing  and  depopu 
lating  the  Eastern  world.  Americans  !  in  your  trading 
with  China  you  aid  in  perpetrating  that  wrong  on  the 
human  kind.  But  more  of  this  hereafter. 


Caftntt  ^Imttns'  3Hnttttg 

AT    LEON. 

THE  Report  of  the  Committee  states  that,  "  perhaps, 
no  interests  in  the  world  are  so  surrounded  with  dif 
ficulties,  or  subject  to  so  many  disasters,  as  the  cotton 
planting  interests."  This  very  statement  will  only 
show  the  very  uncertain  and  dangerous  position  of  the 
whole  of  the  States  with  regard  to  this  staple.  A  pru 
dent  people  would  not  place  their  all  on  so  uncertain  a 
foundation.  Where  is  there  an  article  that  does  not 
fluctuate  in  prices  ?  Those  articles  of  consumption  which 
a  man  must  have  three  times  a  day  to  support  existence, 
even  they,  although  there  can  be  no  mistake  in  the 
amount  required,  vary  in  prices,  from  the  uncertainty 
in  production.  One  year  the  wheat,  another  the  oats  or 
barley,  another  the  potato  crops,  might  fail ;  there  are 
years  some  may  fail,  yet,  from  the  abundant  harvest  of 
the  others,  plenty  and  cheapness  of  food  would  be  the  con 
sequence.  Yet  in  these  articles,  while  there  can  be  no 
deviation  from  the  usual  quantities  consumed,  upon  the 
other  hand,  from  the  uncertainty  of  harvests,  cause  a  great 
deal  of  fluctuation.  With  regard  to  cotton,  indigo,  wines, 
&c.,  on  both  sides,  there  ever  must  be  great  fluctuations. 
The  consumption  as  well  as  the  produce  is  always  liable 
2 


26  AGKICLTLTUKAL    AM>  "COMMERCIAL 

to  great  changes,  and  therefore  they  mil  always,  let 
what  step  may  be  taken,  vary  greatly  in  price.  The 
consumption  of  these  articles  is  very  uncertain  in  all 
countries,  either  from  depression  of  the  agricultural  popu 
lation  from  short  crops,  or  of  scarcity  generally,  or  from 
political  causes.  Let,  for  instance,  India  be  threatened 
with  a  general  revolution,  the  whole  of  the  exports  for 
Calcutta,  Bombay,  and  Madras,  would  be  thrown  on 
the  hands  of  the  manufacturers  in  England.  And 
whether  the  American  cotton  crop  was  a  short  one  or 
otherwise,  the  price  of  cotton  would  then  go  down.  A 
famine  over  India  would  not  only  interfere  with  the  usual 
consumption  during  its  existence,  but  for  some  years 
afterwards.  Do  what  cotton  planters  may  by  combina 
tion,  they  never  will  be  able  to  grapple  with  the  diffi 
culties  of  the  trade.  And  if  their  report  be  carefully 
gone  through,  it  will  be  seen  upon  what  false  ground  they 
have  made  it,  and  propose  it  for  legislation. 

Over  production  of  cotton  can  alone  be  the  cause  of 
permanent  low  prices.  Well,  suppose  cotton  be  down 
this  year  to  six  cents  ;  to  save  planters  from  selling  at  that 
price,  let  one-third  part,  or  any  such  portion  of  the  year's 
crop  be  withdrawn  from  the  market  as  would  raise  the 
price  up  to  10  cents  or  12  cents  per  pound,  that  one- third 
portion  would  remain  round  to  the  following  crop,  and  to 
be  added  to  it.  Well,  the  following  crop  may  be  a  large 
one,  too,  and  another  one-third  of  that  crop  may  be  with 
drawn  also ;  therefore,  as  but  two -thirds  of  each  of  the 
former  years  have  been  sold,  there  would  remain  another 
two-thirds  for  the  third  year  ;  and,  therefore,  the  third 
year,  without  any  new  crop,  would  have  a  full  crop  ;  or, 
supposing  the  third  year's  be  a  failure,  i.  o.?  a  complete 


STAPLES   OF    AXD    FOR    AMERICA.  27 

failure,  then  there  is  the  crop  made  up  for  it.  Supposing 
it  was  at  the  option  of  the  American  planters  to  carry 
the  above  scheme  into  practice,  what  could  it  effect?  It 
could  not  raise  the  cotton,  in  the  aggregate,  one  cent  in 
price.  All  that  it  could  do  would  be  to  equalize  the  price 
of  one  year  with  the  other,  raising  up  the  minimum  and 
reducing  the  maximum.  And  the  weavers  or  manufac 
turers  should  encourage  the  scheme,  because  it  would 
have  the  effect  of  rendering  the  price  of  cotton  piece 
goods  on  their  side  equal  also  ;  and,  instead  of  their  hav 
ing  to  hold  over  the  piece  goods  for  a  favorable  market,  at 
a  great  loss,  by  the  accumulation  of  interest  and  warehouse 
expense,  &c.,  the  cotton  planters  would  take  all  that  addi 
tional  trouble  on  themselves. 

Therefore,  let  it  be  allowed  that  the  American  cotton 
planter  be  the  sole  arbitrator  of  the  market,  such  a 
scheme  would  be  detrimental  to  his  own  prospects.  But, 
is  the  cotton  planter  so  far  ignorant  as  to  suppose  that  the 
same  quantity  of  cotton  would  be  consumed  at  twelve 
cents  per  pound  as  there  would  be  at  six  cents  per  pound. 
Raise  the  price  of  cotton  to  the  uniform  price  of  twelve 
cents  and  it  would  be  to  contract  its  consumption.  It 
may  be  supposed  cotton  must  be  had  at  any  price  :  that 
is  a  great  mistake  ;  flax  and  hemp,  silk,  wool,  &c.,  wrould 
take  its  place  ;  cotton  shirting  and  sheeting,  cotton  vests, 
cotton  drawers,  cotton  night-caps,  cotton  socks,  would  be 
all  superseded  by  the  use  of  woolen,  linen,  and  silken 
goods.  The  grazier  with  his  sheep,  the  man  who  rears 
the  silk-worm,  the  farmer  who  sows  his  flax  and  his  hemp, 
who  are  all,  in  a  manner,  cotton  planters,  would  be  re 
cipients  of  the  benefits.  China  and  India  would  export 
more  silk  ;  Australia,  Great  Britain,  France,  more  wool; 


28  AGRICULTURAL   AND.COMMERCIAL 

Ireland,  Belgium,  Switzerland  and  Russia  would  produce 
greater  quantities  of  flax,  and  East  India  and  Russia 
would  export  more  hemp  and  jute. 

The  committee  reports,  "  enough  is  shown  by  the  facts 
to  establish  an  important  point :  that  the  extent  of  con 
sumption,  up  to  this  time,  has  been  controlled  by  the 
extent  of  production  ;  and  we  must,  therefore,  look  to 
other  causes  for  the  ruinous  depression  in  price  to  which 
we  have  so  often  submitted."  It  is  true,  that  the  con 
sumption  will  always  be  ruled  by  production  ;  it  is  a  fact, 
scarcely  needing  elucidation,  produce  less  cotton  and 
there  is  less  to  be  consumed,  produce  more  and  more  will 
be  consumed.*  The  greater  quantity  produced  the  lower 
the  price,  and  the  lower  the  price  of  cotton  the  more  it 
will  be  economical  for  wear  instead  of  silk,  woolen  or 
linen.  Limit  the  quantity,  raise  the  price,  and,  as  a 
matter  of  economy,  place  it  on  a  par  with  silks,  woolens 
and  linens,  and  then  cotton  cloths  would  go  out  of  use 
in  geometrical  proportion  as  their  price  be  raised  com 
pared  with  the  above.  And,  instead  of  cotton  sheets, 
towels,  &c.,  we  will  have  linen  ones.  Instead  of  muslin 
dresses,  there  will  be  more  silk  ones,  and  more  silk  and 

*  For  instance,  "the  failure  of  the  American  crop  in  year  1846,  as 
in  the  very  last  season  (1850),  caused  a  considerable  rise  in  the  price 
of  cotton ;  and  it  was  calculated  that,  in  that  year,  an  advance  in  price 
of  two  pence  per  pound,  required  an  increased  payment  by  this  coun 
try  of  £4,000,000  ($20,000,000).  In  this  year  the  increase  in  price 
has  caused  many  spinners  and  manufacturers  of  coarse  yarns  and 
heavy  goods  either  to  stop  their  mills  or  to  work  but  a  short  time.  It 
has  been  well  ascertained,  that,  with  high  prices  of  the  raw  material, 
the  present  enormous  production  of  cotton  manufactures  will  not, 
and  cannot,  be  taken  off  by  the  markets  of  the  world." — Manchester 
Guardian,  July  23r<£  1850— /rom  Mr.  Royle's  work. 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  29 

woolen  stockings,  vests,  &c.  Therefore,  when  the  pro 
duction  of  cotton  is  above  the  mark,  it  reduces  itself  in 
price  ;  but  at  a  low  figure  there  is  room  for  consumption 
ad  infinitum — to  the  injury  of  the  sheep  owner,  the  silk 
manufacturer  and  the  flax  planter. 

The  report  goes  on,  viz  :  "  The  second  point  requiring 
investigation  is  the  capacity  of  the  world  for  over  pro 
duction.  To  this  your  committee  concede  there  cannot 
be  a  definite  answer  given ;  they  incline,  however,  strongly 
in  opinion  that,  at  fair  prices  and  with  proper  organiza 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  American  cotton  planters,  the 
capacity  for  over  production  does  not,  and  never  can 
exist." 

There  is  here  a  great  want  of  due  attention  to  the 
trade  of  the  world  displayed.  To  put  the  question,  can 
Egypt,  for  instance,  beat  us  out  of  the  market  ?  is  but 
one  consideration  out  of  the  many.  The  first  and  leading 
question  is,  can  we  produce  cotton  at  that  low  rate  as  to 
create  an  extensive  consumption,  viz :  to  throw  woolen 
cloths,  as  far  ns  they  can  be  substituted  for  cotton 
cloths,  out  of  the  market,  and  to  keep  linens  out  of 
use — to  keep  silk  wear  within  bounds  1  Upon  that  point 
must  rest  the  sole  subject  of  increase  of  consumption. 
Then  there  is  another  question,  is  the  flax  trade  increas 
ing'?  and  the  same  of  woolen  and  of  silk  may  be  asked. 
If  so,  people  must  prize  these  articles,  inasmuch  as  cotton 
goods  are  now  so  cheap.  Well,  for  the  last  twelve  years, 
cotton  has  realized  not  more  that  8H  cents  per  pound  or  so. 
It  is  now  sought  to  bring  up  the  price  to  12J  cents  per 
pound ;  therefore,  that  will  be  to  enhance  the  value  of 
cotton  goods  some  50  per  cent. ;  and,  while  the  linen, 
woolen  and  silk  goods  remain  at  present  low  rates,  it  is 


30  AGKICULTl'KAL    AS  L» -COMMERCIAL 

proposed  to  place  cotton  goods  in  competition  with  them, 
at  50  per  cent,  dearer  than  they  have  been.  This,  all 
•will  admit,  \vould  be  advantageous  to  the  three  former 
articles,  disadvantageous  to  the  sale  of  the  latter. 

Then,  with  regard  to  the  second  point,  viz  :  production, 
it  may  be  asked,  who  are  the  growers  of  the  cotton 
plant,  or  who  may  become  eventually  planters  of  it  1 

There  are  the  Southern  States  of  America,  ranks  first 
of  all  nations  ;  then  comes  the  East  Indies,  Egypt  and 
Smyrna,  Brazils,  West  India  and  Islands,  China,  Italy, 
&c.  Well,  all  these  countries  produce  more  or  less  cot 
ton,  and  export  one- third  as  much  as  America ;  and  proba 
bly  India  produces  twice  the  quantity  that  America  does. 
If  cotton  be  kept  at  the  present  low  price  of  eight  cents, 
the  inducement  for  them  to  extend  their  cultivation  can 
not  be  great,  inasmuch  as  the  price  is  all  but  ruinous 
to  the  Southern  States. 

The  Southern  States'  produce  last  six  years  over  the 
former  six  years  is  as  2,049,000,  2,208,000,  or  increase 
in  six  years  of  T3  per  cent,  only,  or  yearly  lal  percent. 

The  exports  from  the  undermentioned  places  was  in — 

1848.       1849.       1850. 

East  India,  -  -  Bales,  227,572  182.090  309,220  to  L'pool  only. 
Egypt  &  Smyrna,  „  29,032  72,725  79,505  „ 

Brazils,   -  „      100,244  163,149  171,322  „ 

Showing  the  increase  of  1849  over  1848  on  the  above 

three  places  had  been   -  17  per  cent 

„  „  1850  over  1849  „          34        „ 

„  „  1850  over  1848  „          56}£    „ 

This  shows  a  steady  and  large  increase. 
If  the  produce  of  the  Southern  States  be  taken  for  the 
same  periods,  viz. : — 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOlt   AMERICA.  81 

1818.  1849.  1850. 

Bales,  2,347,634    2,728,596    2,096,706 
Showing  increase  of  1849   over    1848  nearly  12    per  cent. 
„         decrease  of  1850  under  1849       3,      23^        „ 
decrease  of  1850  under  1848      „      32         „ 

The  calculations  for  1851  is  under  that  of  the   crop  of 
?49,  and  little  more  than  equal  to  ?48. 

Therefore,  while  the  Southern  States  are  looking  back 
ward,  the  above  countries  are  rapidly  advancing,  and 
that  too  when  the  Southern  States  are  nearly  reduced  to 
ruin  by  low  prices.  Well,  then,  raise  the  price  of  cotton 
by  any  scheme  to  fifty  per  cent  dearer ;  two  agents  will 
then  enter  the  field,  whose  united  forces  will  be  irresistible, 
and  will  drive  the  Southern  States  into  a  much  worse 
predicament  than  they  at  present  stand  in,  viz.,  woolen, 
linen,  and  silk,  will  be  called  in  as  substitutes  for  the 
then  expensive  cotton  cloth;  and  Egypt,  Smyrna,  East 
India,  and  Brazils,  will  move  with  all  their  powers,  being 
stimulated  thereto  by  an  advance  of  50  per  cent  on  the 
present  prices  of  cotton.  However,  it  is  seen  that  pre 
sent  prices  are  sufficient  to  make  them  renew  their  exer 
tions,  and  beyond  these  measures  already  taken,  as 
stated,  for  the  forwarding  the  growth  of  cotton  in  the 
above  place.  It  is  seen  by  official  announcement,  that 
the  American  gins  are  to  be  introduced  into  two  countries 
of  Asia,  two  of  Europe,  and  one  of  Africa.  Well,  to 
keep  these  countries  out  of  the  market,  is  to  keep  down 
the  price  of  cotton ;  to  encourage  them,  is  to  give  50  per 
cent  more  for  their  produce ;  and  any  inconvenience 
America  may  put  herself  to  to  bring  round  high  prices,  will 
be  only  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners,  and  to  her  own  ruin. 
Therefore,  if  cotton -plan  ting  is  not  profitable,  or  so  little 


32  AGRICULTURAL  AND*  COMMERCIAL 

so  as  not  to  compensate  for  all  the  risks  from  short  crops, 
or  a  complete  failure,  the  only  way  is  to  give  up  planting, 
and  plant,  or  grow  something  else.  Interference  with  the 
course  of  events  will  drive  cotton  planting  from  these 
States  ;  while  allowing  matters  to  right  themselves,  will, 
at  least,  preserve  a  fair  portion  of  the  cotton  trade  to 
America. 

Again,  the  committee  states — "  The  largest  five 
years'  average  production  the  world  has  yet  furnished  i& 
2,791,000  bales  per  annum.  That,  of  these,  England, 
France,  and  the  United  States  require  for  their  con 
sumption  from  2,000,000  to  2,200,000  bales,  leaving  not 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  annual  product  to  supply  the 
balance  of  the  world,  with  a  population  probably  teD 
times  as  large  as  their  own." 

Here  is  another  very  erroneous  view  put  forward.  It 
is  so  well  known  that  England  are  spinners  and  weavers 
for  all  the  world,  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the 
committee  could  put  forward  the  statement  above. 

The  imports  to  England  are  exported  again  to  India, 
China,  the  Continent  of  Europe,  all  Asia,  Australia, 
Africa,  Russia,  and  to  all  places  ;  not  more,  if  as  much, 
as  one-sixth  part  of  the  cotton  imported  being  used  in 
England.  The  imports  to  England  for  1849  from  all 
countries  were  775,470,000  Ibs. ;  the  consumption  for  that 
year  of  Great  Britain  was  136,420,765  Ibs.  only. 

The  committee  again  states — a  Having  now  shown 
that  there  has  been  no  over  production  in  the  aggregate, 
and  that  there  is  no  reasonable  probability  that  there  ever 
will  be,  your  committee  will  show  the  effects  of  irregular 
production  on  prices  and  consumption."  It  is  seen,  from 
1826  to  1838,  the  price  of  cotton  was  121  cents  per  lb.; 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOE   AMERICA.  33 

from  1838  to  1850,  only  81!  cents  per  Ib.  Irregularity 
of  production  would  necessarily  cause  fluctuations  in  the 
market.  An  abundant  crop  one  year  might  cheapen, 
while  a  short  crop  the  next  might  enhance,  the  prices ; 
but  such  irregularity,  in  the  long  run,  could  not  pull  down 
the  price  some  29  per  cent,  permanently  if  there  was  not 
over  production.  There  is  no  over  production  for  the 
world.  The  world  would  find  people  to  wear  twice  the 
quantity  of  cotton  clothing,  but  the  lowness  of  prices 
must  be  tempting  to  the  world  for  them  to  do  so.  For 
instance,  Americans  consume  HO  Ibs.  per  head ;  it  has 
been  calculated  that  the  East  Indians  consume  20  Ibs.  per 
head ;  Great  Britain  only  4 1  Ibs.  per  head.  Here  is 
room,  if  returns  be  correct,  for  an  increase  in  the  con 
sumption  to  take  place  in  Great  Britain  of  7  Ibs.  per 
head,  or  say,  some  210,000,000  Ibs.  But  what  is  to  pre 
vail  on  Great  Britain  to  wear  more  cotton  cloth  ?  Simply, 
to  produce  more  cotton,  and  cheapen  the  price ;  not  to 
raise  it  above  what  it  is  at  present  selling.  Cheap  prices 
have  given  a  wonderful  impetus  to  the  consumption  of 
cotton ;  and  lower  it  still,  it  would  go  on  increasing. 
Yet  the  present  quantity  produced  is  over  production  for 
the  cotton  planter,  inasmuch  as  he  sells  his  cotton  for 
the  last  twelve  years  for  29  per  cent,  less  than  the  former 
twelve  years.  Not  only  has  the  prices  of  cotton  receded 
some  29  per  cent.,  but  the  productive  powers  of  the  cotton 
land  is  seriously  diminished.  Under  these  circumstances, 
is  it  safe  to  persevere  in  extending  cotton  cultivation  1 

But  now,  to  take  another  view  of  the  cotton  trade  of 
America,  in  conjunction  with  that  of  other  countries. 
China  cannot  produce  sufficient  of  all  things  for  herself : 

her  soil  is  covered  over  with  mountains,  which  take  away 
o* 


34  AGRICULTURAL    AND  COMMERCIAL 

most  materially  from  her  area  of  arable  land,  arid  although 
the  Chinaman  holds  the  first  rank  of  all  nations  for  his 
ingenuity  as  a  cultivator,  and  the  government  of  China 
the  first  rank  as  patrons  of  agriculture,  and  of  the  indus 
trious  poor  man ;  yet,  if  the  area  of  land  in  cultivation, 
as  stated  by  Gutzlaff,  and  repeated  by  Martin,  from  offi 
cial  returns,  be  correct,  as  being  but  141,119,347  of 
English,  acres,  and  the  population  to  be  367,632,907 
souls.  It  is  only  to  be  wondered  how  they  can  export  as 
many  articles  as  they  do,  especially  silk  and  tea.  There 
fore  China  may  be  a  mart  always  for  the  sale  of  cotton, 
and  perhaps  it  may  not  be  an  improper  deviation  from 
the  subject  to  hint  at  the  desirability  of  considering  what 
might  be  the  result  of  opening  a  grain  trade  from  the 
west  of  America  with  China.  1  believe,  already  Ameri 
can  rice  has  been  shipped  from  the  eastern  ports  to 
China. 

Smyrna  and  Egypt,  in  their  cotton  movement,  will 
be  but  gradual.  However,  railroads,  and  the  present 
awakening  spirit,  stimulated  by  exertions  of  the  English, 
may  advance  their  cotton  cultivations,  and  an  advance  on 
the  present  prices,  would  be  the  greatest  auxiliary  to  pro 
mote  the  wishes  of  the  present  rulers,  and  of  the  English. 

However,  to  pass  over  the  Brazils  and  West  Indies, 
and  consider  what  are  the  prospects  of  East  India.  In 
the  first  place,  it  is  necessary  to  start  with  the  knowledge 
that  there  are  two  parties  in  England,  to  all  outside  ap 
pearance,  exerting  and  straining  every  nerve  to  promote 
the  cultivation  in  East  India  ;  while  in  fact,  both  parties 
are  doing  little  or  nothing  beyond  casting  blame  on  each 
other.  Individuals,  upon  whose  exertions  alone  the  growth 
of  the  cotton  plant  would  be  extended,  are  not  in  the 


STAPLES   OF   AND    FOK   AMERICA.  35 

field.  A  few  American  planters  are  there  upon  salaries, 
and  a  few  servants  of  the  government  get  up  experi 
mental  farms ;  for  every  man  who  will  try  his  hand  at 
cotton  growing,  is  sure  to  be  enrolled  in  parliamentary 
blue  books,  and  be  lionized  for  the  time  being  ;  therefore 
many  lovers  of  popularity  have  their  little  to  do  with 
cotton  planting;  and  among  the  whole  body  there  is  not 
one  interested  person,  whose  hopes  are  concentrated,  and 
whose  means  of  livelihood  is  to  be  realized  from  his  suc 
cessful  issue  in  cotton  planting.  It  is  lamentable,  but  it 
is  not  less  the  fact,  that  people  now-a-days  carry  on  all 
their  experimental  cultivations,  &c.,  not  so  much  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  good,  but  to  figure  in  print,  and 
appear  to  be  a  somebody.  When  we  Jook  at  the  volumi 
nous  reports  on  cotton  cultivation  in  East  India,  when 
we  listen  to  the  worthless  wrangling  of  the  Court  of  Di 
rectors  of  the  British  East  India  Company,  and  the  Man 
chester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  it  must  be  grievous  to 
find  that  two  such  bodies  should  waste  their  energies  in 
pen  and  ink,  and  high-winded  speeches.  Every  planter 
of  indigo,  &c.,  in  East  India,  is  at  the  complete  mercy 
of  a  boyish  magistrate,  or  collector ;  the  planter,  what 
ever  his  position  may  be,  is  at  their  discretion.  I  can 
say,  after  fourteen  years  in  the  East  Indies,  that  the  serf 
of  Russia  has  far  more  security  than  planters  or  culti 
vators  have  in  the  British  possessions  in  India.  On  the 
other  hand,  instead  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Com 
merce  or  the  commercial  community  employing  active 
and  intelligent  men — and  investing  their  capital  to  enable 
such  to  make  themselves  a  provision,  they  keep  aloof, 
talk  and  write.  Latterly,  i.  e.  1850,  the  Chamber  sent 
out  a  commission  of  inquiry  to  ascertain  the  cause  why 


36  AGRICULTURAL   AND  COMMERCIAL 

they  did  not  GET  MORE  COTTON  FROM  INDIA.  Had  they 
distributed  the  money  necessary  to  defray  that  expensive 
mission  to  half  a  score  of  active  planters,  they  would 
have  done  something  towards  the  object  desired. 

These  are  the  obstacles,  and  there  are  no  others  to 
prevent  cotton  being  grown  to  any  extent,  and  of  every 
quality  in  the  East  Indies. 

The  East  Indian  cotton  contains  25  per  cent  of  waste 
and  dirt,  while  the  American  contains  only  121  per  cent. 
It  is  more  difficult  to  spin  the  Indian,  from  its  often 
breaking,  and  requiring  more  turns  of  the  spindle,  from 
its  shortness  of  fibre,  than  that  of  America.  But  the 
yarn  made  from  a  pound  of  East  Indian  cotton,  which 
cost  3^  pence  sterling  will  sell  for  7  pence,  while  from 
the  American,  which  cost  4A  pence  the  lb.,  the  yarn  sells 
for  Tf  pence  only,  making  up  somewhat  of  the  difference 
in  "value  of  the  yarn. 

The  capabilities  of  India  to  produce  cotton  is  seen 
from  the  following  evidence.  Mr.  Chapman,  manager  of 
the  Great  Peninsular  Railway  Company,  stated  to  Mr. 
Bazley,  "  That  cotton  of  good  quality  for  English  use  is 
always  to  be  had  in  Berar  at  about  11  pence  per  lb., 
ranging  of  late  years  from  II  to  II  pence  per  lb.  The 
quality  of  this  cotton  is  such,  that  at  a  certain  relative 
difference  of  price  (averaging  about  15  per  cent,  less  for 
Indian  than  American),  it  can  be  used  instead  of  Ameri 
can  for  more  than  50  per  cent,  of  our  manufactures  ;  that 
is,  will  afford  material  for  all  yarns  under  No.  20." 
(Royle  on  cotton  in  India.)  Berar  is  part  of  Central 
India,  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  miles  from  Bombay  ; 
the  railroads  now  making  will  open  a  communication  with 
Berar  for  exporting  that  cotton  to  the  coasts.  There  is 


PRODUCT   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  37 

little  effort  made  to  obtain  the  best  cotton  from  India,  or 
even  the  middling  qualities  in  a  clean  state.  Mr.  Mer 
cer  and  Mr.  Finnic,  American  planters,  state  "  that  an 
inferior  and  dirty  cotton  is  the  most  profitable  article  to 
the  native  trader,  and  even  to  the  European  merchants 
and  Mr.  Petrie,  before  the  cotton  committe  stated — 
"  Cotton  that  would  be  sold  in  England  at  4|  pence  per 
lb.?  and  cotton  that  would  only  bring  3  pence,  will  sell 
in  India  within  3  to  4  per  cent  of  the  same  value.  The 
cultivators  know  this,  and  therefore  they  have  no  object 
in  bestowing  more  care  and  labor."  Mr.  Read,  commis 
sioner  of  Benares  division,  wrote  16th  August,  1848  : 
"  In  this  division,  the  cultivation  of  cotton  is  little  more 
than  nominal,  it  is  most  commonly  mixed  up  with  other 
crops,  it  is  nowhere  carefully  attended  to ;  in  many 
places  it  is  an  object  of  superstitious  aversion,  and  often 
when  the  plant  contrives  to  struggle  to  maturity  it  is 
left,  after  being  stripped  of  a  portion  of  the  bolls,  enough 
to  supply  domestic  purposes,  to  be  devoured  by  cattle." 
Evidence  to  this  effect  might  be  produced  ad  infinitum. 

Mr.  Bruce,  in  a  letter  dated  loth  March,  1848,  says  : 
If  the  associations  and  manufacturers  who  have  been 
memorializing  and  soliciting  the  authorities  in  England, 
regarding  the  increase  of  cultivation  of  cotton  in  India, 
actually  wish  for  it,  and  will  guarantee  that  all  that  may 
be  produced  through  my  exertions  in  this  country  will  be 
taken  by  them,  and  paid  for  here,  and  will  send  out  re 
sponsible  agents  to  receive  charge  of  the  cotton,  either 
here  or  at  Calcutta,  I  will  engage  and  undertake  to  pro 
duce  for  them  as  much  real  good  marketable  cotton  as 
they  may  require,  and  not  cost  them,  when  landed  in 
England,  more  than  about  31  pence  per  lb.,  which  I 


38  AGRICULTURAL   AND    COMMERCIAL 

think  very  moderate,  considering  the  Indian  cotton  gen 
erally  realizes  from  4*  to  5ij  pence  per  Ib.  in  England. 

"  The  Doab,  as  well  as  Bundlecund,  has  always  grown 
considerable  quantities  of  cotton,  and  will  be  able,  as  we 
hope  to  show,  to  grow  it  of  a  better  quality  as  soon  as  the 
Ganges  Canal,  that  most  magnificant  of  works  for  irri 
gation,  is  completed." — ROYLE. 

"  The  cotton  of  Jaloun  and  Jhansi  (writes  Mr.  Bell) 
was  formerly  much  celebrated.  Koonch  is  now  the  great 
mart  in  that  direction,  arid  it  is  surrounded  by  the 
Jaloon  Territory.  Mr.  Bell,  after  making  careful  en 
quiries,  ascertained  that  the  cotton  of  Baugchenee  was 
that  which  at  present  is  most  in  repute  with  the  natives 
of  those  parts,  who  gave  about  7i  Per  cent,  more  for  it 
than  for  the  other  best  kinds.  The  district  is  on  the 
south  of  the  Chumbul,  near  Dholpore,  and  therefore  pro 
bably  very  similar  in  soil  and  climate  to  that  of  Jaloun 
and  Jhansi,  which  are  not  very  far  distant.  Mr.  Bell 
further  thought,  that  it  might  be  landed  at  Liverpool  in  a 
clean  and  desirable  condition  for  about  31-  pence  per  Ib. 
As  these  districts,  as  well  as  Bundlecund,  lie  to  the 
westward  of  the  Jumna,  and  have  always  been  famous 
among  the  natives  for  their  cotton,  it  is  probably  owing 
to  some  physical,  pecularities  of  soil,  or  of  climate,  that  the 
cotton  is  produced  of  a  better  quality,  for  we  cannot  dis 
cover  that  it  has  the  ad  vantage  of  any  more  careful  culture 
or  cleaning." — ROYLE. 

Some,  indeed,  ascribe  the  whole  of  the  difficulties  and 
the  unimproved  state  of  the  Indian  cotton  to  the  con 
tinued  purchases  by  the  European  merchants  of  the  very 
dirty  and  adulterated  article.  These,  however,  who  are 
resident  at  Bombay  rebut  this  charge,  and  explain  the 


PRODUCTS   OF   AND    FOR   AMERICA.  39 

peculiarities  of  their  position,  by  showing  the  difficulty 
there  is  for  merchants  resident  in  the  capital  to  come  in 
contact  with  the  cultivator  in  the  country ;  for  they  are  a 
small  body,  not  exceeding  forty  in  number,  belonging  to 
about  twenty  firms,  so  that  each  firm  has  only  on  an 
average,  two  resident  members,  a  number  barely  suffi 
cient  for  the  transaction  of  local  business,  and  they  are 
moreover,  in  most  cases,  the  agents  of  others,  whose 
orders  they  must  comply  with — and  the  execution  of 
these  orders  is  always  limited  to  time,  leaving  them  wholly 
dependent  on  the  cotton  to  be  found  at  Bombay,  what 
ever  be  its  quality." — ROYLE. 

I  will  give  but  a  few  extracts  more  to  show,  even 
under  the  indiiferent  management  of  parties  who  were 
rather  pushed  to  make  experiments,  than  to  enter  into 
them  with  a  hearty  good  will.  The  Manchester  people, 
who  are  all  anxiety,  have  done  actually  nothing  beyond 
scolding  the  East  India  Company.  Under  such  state 
of  things,  a  kind  of  Punch  and  Judy  struggle,  what  could 
be  expected?  Yet,  a  few  examples  of  success  can  be 
produced,  abundantly  sufficient  to  show,  that  East  India 
will  become  one  of  the  greatest  cotton  countries  in  the 
world. 

Mr.  Mercer,  the  American  planter,  says,  "  Dharwar 
is  more  like  the  Mississippi  climate  than  any  other  he 
has  met  with  in  India.  The  elevation  modifies  the 
climate,  which  also  feels  the  influence  of  both  monsoons 
or  rains,  so  that  it  never  becomes  extremely  dry,  and  is 
never  inundated  with  excessive  rains."  Mr.  Mercer 
finds  the  seed  returning  to  its  original  Mexican  character, 
instead  of  deteriorating  as  in  other  parts  of  India.  Here 
the  natives,  witnessing  the  success  of  cultivation  on  the 


40  AGRICULTURAL    AND   COMMERCIAL 

government  farm  with  American  cotton,  have  themselves 
adopted  and  are  rapidly  increasing  it,  as  they  find  it 
yields  a  larger  quantity  per  acre,  and  they  get  a  better 
price,  even  from  the  native  weavers.'' 

The  culture  of  American  cotton  has  been  greatly  in 
creasing  in  quantity ;  from  600  acres  the  first  year  (1842,) 
to  15,000  acres  this  year,  1845,  Mr.  Mercer  thought 
that  not  less  than  1,000,000  Ibs.  of  American  cotton 
would  be  produced.  This  crop  has  now  been  ginned,  and 
40,000  rupees  (20,000  dollars)  worth,  at  66£  Kupees  per 
784  Ibs.  (i.e.  33  dollars  in  round  numbers)  has  been 
bought  from  the  ryots  (farmers),  for  transmission  to  this 
country." 

The  further  expense  of  this  cotton  amounted  to  17£ 
rupees,  (exchange  value  of  a  rupee  is  Is.  lOd.  or  say  45 
cts.)  Some  of  this  cotton  (100  bales)  was  sold  at  Bombay 
for  113  rupees  a  candy,  and  the  500  which  were  sent  to 
Manchester  for  6^  pence  a  pouud,  having  cost  3|-  pence 
a  pound. 

Mr.  Blount  wrote  from  Dharwar,  the  following  two 
letters  to  Mr.  Royle,  viz. — "  I  have  much  pleasure  :n 
informing  you,  that  the  number  of  acres  planted  this  year 
is  in  round  numbers,  15,400  against  3,400  in  1848,  and 
we  have  had  a  copious  monsoon,  and  the  expectation  is, 
there  will  be  another  good  productive  season;  should 
such  be  the  event,  I  have  no  doubt  the  crop  will  double 
itself  another  year."—  Dlmwar,  Oct.  27,  1849. 

"  The  fine  crop  of  New  Orleans,  likely  to  be  realized 
this  season,  will,  I  think,  induce  a  more  extended  culti 
vation  of  that  variety  ;  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  see 
the  cultivation  come  up  next  year  to  30,000  acres.  I 
have  now  completed  the  despatch  of  cotton  purchased  in 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  41 

1849  for  government,  and  can  give  you  a  correct  quan 
tity  . — New  Orleans,  330  candies,  which  -will  cost,  put 
down  to  Liverpool,  Siva-  pence  per  Ib.  ;  native  cotton  60 
candies,  cost,  put  down  at  Liverpool,  about  3i  pence  per 
Ib.  The  cotton  is  superior  in  quality  to  the  previous 
mop.)9—£harwar,  Aug.  8th,  1850. 

"  Since  October  last  my  partners  purchased,  on  ac 
count  of  my  firm  here,  a  parcel  of  New  Orleans  cotton, 
which  is  now  on  its  way  to  this  country  ;  and,  by  the 
mail,  arrived  this  evening.  I  have  advice  of  a  further 
purchase  on  account,  of  an  eminent  Lancashire  spinner. 
The  quality  of  this  cotton  is  now  well  known,  and  appre 
ciated  in  Bombay,  and  its  value  is  quoted  in  all  the 
prices  current ;  on  the  15th  January,  the  quotations  were 
114  rupees,  whilst  the  highest  quotations  for  Surats 
were  74  rupees.  The  return  to  the  cultivator,  upon  an 
acre  of  ground,  is  thus  doubled  ;  for  he  gets  50  per  cent. 
more  weight  of  cotton,  and  an  increase  of  50  per  cent,  in 
value.  I  feel,  therefore,  most  confident,  that  this  will 
give  a  stimulus  to  the  native  grower,  and  that  we  shall 
see  a  rapid  increase  in  the  production,  as  well  as 
a  great  improvement  in  the  quality." — Signed,  JOHN 
PEEL. 

I  give  these  few  extracts  from  Mr.  Royle's  work,  (in 
which  is  to  be  found  a  collection  of  all  that  has  tran 
spired  on  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  India;  printed 
in  London  •  this  year,)  simply  to  show  that  the  Ameri 
can  cotton  planter  has  some  cause  to  apprehend  a  severe 
competition,  and  to  suggest  the  great  danger  there  may 
be  in  tampering  with  the  natural  order  of  things,  be 
cause,  should  planters  by  any  means  advance  the  price  of 
cotton  from  present  rates,  they  will  give  an  impetus  to 


42  AGRICULTURAL   AND    COMMERCIAI 

cotton  cultivation  all  over  the  world,  that  must  be  detri 
mental  to  America. 

I  have  made  quotations  for  which  I  feel  I  may  guarantee, 
not  only  their  accuracy,  but  that  they  also  fairly  represent 
the  state  of  cotton  cultivation  in  India,  where,  I  have  no 
hesitation  to  say,  after  fourteen  years  residence,  and 
after  a  tour  through  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  that 
India  has  every  means  of  producing  as  fair  cotton,  and 
far  cheaper  than  America, 

And  I  submit,  under  the  circumstances,  the  necessity 
of  America  to  introduce  some  other  staples  to  uphold  the 
interest  of  agriculture  an;l  commerce  than  cotton.  In 
the  first  place,  because  the  trade  now  in  cotton  is  in  a 
bad  state.  Second,  that  cotton  is  not  sufficient  in  itself, 
even  in  the  most  prosperous  state,  to  employ  the  in 
creasing  population  of  America.  And  in  the  third  place, 
England  is  determined  to  render  herself  independent  of 
America,  and  is  most  likely  to  succeed. 

It  is  curious,  however,  to  remark  that  the  East  India 
Government  has  been  making  their  experiments  in  India 
over  to  North  West,  under  the  influence  of  a  burning  hot 
wind,  or  South  of  N.,  Lat.  20°.  Had  the  experiments 
leen  made  N.  East,  from  Lat.  24°  to  29°,  a  climate  and 
soil  like  that  of  South  America  might  be  obtained. 


nf  tjj*  Hire  Crnh. 


I  WILL  enter  into  a  very  brief  statement  of  this,  the 
second  staple  of  the  Southern  States.  It  is  the  one 
most  dangerous  to  the  life  of  the  planters. 

I  will  take  the  last  24  years  of  the  returns  embracing 
North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  the  last  14 
years  for  review  of  the  price  of  the  article. 

Tierces.  Tierces. 

From  1825  to  '30,  six  year's  produce  676,816,  average  112,802 
"  1831  to '36,  "  "  *  661,311,  "  126,885 
"  1837  to  '42,  "  "  "  648,458,  "  108,076 
"  1843  to  '48,  "  "  <:  774,988,  "  129,164 

Which  shows  a  decline,  comparing  the  last  12  years 
with  the  former,  of  14,681  tierces,  or  more  than  one  per 
cent. 

Shipments  to  Europe. 
Taking  the  last  24  years. 

From  1825  to  '36—12  years,      .         .         668,669  tierces. 
•'      1837  to  '48  .         .        566,246       " 

Decline  in  the  shipping  trade,         ... «       102,423  tierces. 
or  yearly  8,535  tierces. 

Taking  the  prices  from  1835  inclusive,  to  1848 — 14 


44  AGRICULTURAL   AX  D^CO  M.MERCI  AL 

years,  and  placing  the  prices  of  the  first  7  years  in  jux 
taposition  with  the  last  7,  the  result  would  be  as  follows  : 

Prices  from  1835  to  '41,  7  years  averaged  S3  30  to  3  88  pr.  tierce. 
"         "      1842  to  '48,         "         "  2  94  to  3  57       " 

Showing  a  falling  oif  in  price  of  10  per  cent.  Or  if 
if  the  two  last  years  be  taken,  the  prices  of  which  I  ob 
tained  after  making  out  the  above  table,  it  would  be  as 
follows  compared  with  prices  from  '34  to  '41  inclusive  : 

Prices  from  1835  to  '41  averaged  yearly  $3  30  to  3  88  per  tierce. 

"     1849  to  '50        "         "  2  83  to  3  31 

or  nearly  15  per  cent. — or,  taking  the  last  nine  years  compared 
with  the  preceding  7,  viz  : 
Prices  from  1835  to  '41,  7  years  averaged  $3  30  to  3  88  pr.  tierce- 

"     1842  to  '50,  9  2  88  to  3  44 

Showing  a  decline  on  the  nine  years  of  121  to  13 
per  cent,  in  prices.  This  decline  concerns  South  Caro 
lina  most ;  Georgia  grows  but  *  as  much  as  S.  Carolina, 
and  North  Carolina  only  produces  about  7,500  tierces 
yearly. 

The  rice  planters  for  the  latter  portion  of  the  last  nine 
years,  had  the  most  favorable  opportunity  to  obtain  a  high 
price,  compared  with  former  years.  The  general  failure 
of  the  potatoe  crop  over  Europe  for  a  series  of  years,  and  a 
short  crop  of  grain  on  the  Continent  of  Europe ;  famine 
among  eight  millions  of  people,  and  great  scarcity  in  the 
highlands  of  Scotland  ;  all,  have  not  been  sufficient  to 
keep  up  the  prices  of  American  rice. 

There  must  be  a  cause  for  this  falling  off.  Scarcity 
must  be  supplied.  Indian  corn  had  been  shipped  to  Ire- 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  45 

land,  but  people  have  every  disrelish  to  it.     Corn  has 
not  made  up  the  supply. 

The  only  causes  to  be  found  for  the  falling  off  in  the 
shipments  and  in  price,  (as  it  has  not  arisen  from  over 
production),  are  the  imports  of  rice  and  paddy  from  Arra- 
can,  Patna,  and  Benares.  In  Arracan,  taking  the  bulk, 
the  Arracan  rice  is  some  500  per  cent,  cheaper  than 
American  rice  in  their  different  countries. 

The  Arracan  sells  in  England  for  10s.  or  $2|  the  cwt. 
"     American    "         "         "         18    or    4|         " 

Therefore  it  is,  although  the  American  brings  80  per 
cent,  better  prices,  and  freight  must  also  be  lower,  that 
the  Arracan  rice  is  ousting  the  American. 

Why  the  East  Indians  are  able  to  undersell  the  Ameri 
can  planter,  will  be  readily  perceived  from  the  following, 
which  I  have  already  stated  in  the  Charleston  Courier, 
&c.,  viz:  the  rice  planter  in  India,  with  his  wife  and 
family,  labor  in  the  field.  The  economy  of  the  people  is 
striking.  The  man's  clothing  consists  of  a  strip  of  coarse 
cotton  that  passes  between  his  legs,  one  end  attached  be 
fore,  the  other  end  behind,  to  a  string  that  surrounds  his 
waist.  Two  pieces  of  such  clothing,  of  the  best  descrip 
tion,  will  last  a  couple  of  years  ;  and  all  his  year's  cloth 
ing  will  not  cost  50  cents.  The  diet  of  the  people  is 
rice,  (which  sometimes  they  use  in  raw  state,  simply 
steeped  in  a  little  water),  which,  when  cooked,  they  eat 
with  some  few  cooked  vegetables  mixed  up  with  pepper, 
chilies,  huldee  (ginger),  and  clarified  butter.  Sometimes, 
instead  of  vegetables  they  have  fish,  and  if  a  goat  be 
killed  in  the  village,  then  there  may  be  flesh  instead  of 
vegetables  and  fish.  A  man  may  support  himself  for  50 


46  AGRICULTURAL   AND   COMMERCIAL 


cents  a  month,  which  is  about  the  value  of  one  rupee  of 
their  money.  However,  this  specimen  of  simplicity  and 
nakedness,  it  may  be  supposed,  could  not  enter  into  com 
petition  with  his  brother  rice  planters,  the  Hon.  this  one 
and  that  of  S.  Carolina  and  Georgia,  who  would  not 
relish  wine  less  than  thirty  to  forty  years  old,  and  who 
live  up  to  that  in  all  things  else,  and  are  to  be  found  the 
great  lions  of  the  seasons  at  London,  Paris  and  Rome  ; 
who,  possessing  from  100  to  1000  slaves,  each  to  act  at 
his  beck,  with  the  precision  of  a  well-disciplined  company 
of  infantry.  Yet  so  it  is  ;  the  simple  poor  Indian,  from 
the  circumstance  of  his  position,  is  too  much  for  the  civi 
lized  lord  and  master  of  the  many.  Look  at  the  ant ;  it 
can  do  nothing  of  itself;  but  look  at  the  ants,  they  can  by 
their  united  powers  raise  up  mounds  fifty  feet  high,  which 
to  look  at  would  be  supposed  to  be  caused  by  some  con 
vulsions  of  nature  ;  yet,  dig  into  it,  and  it  would  be  found 
to  be  the  home  of  these  little  mites — the  structure  of 
their  persevering  efforts.  If  the  people  of  Arracan  or 
Bengal  be  considered,  they  may  be  compared  to  the 
family  of  ants.  Their  great  numbers  enable  them  to 
bring  under  rice  cultivation,  not  a  farm,  not  a  town's  land, 
but  a  whole  district,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  penetrate  ; 
yea,  some  several  score  miles  in  extent.  And  the  climate 
and  nature  of  the  country  is  such,  that  little  more  is  re 
quired  than  casting  the  seed  on  the  ground.  The  em 
bankments  inclosing  the  little  fields  of  so  many,  is  ren 
dered  comparatively  inexpensive,  not  being  of  near  the 
same  extent  as  if  each  plantation  had  its  own  embank 
ment.  Throughout  Bengal  government  takes  care  of  the 
bunds  (embankments). 

But  is  there  no  other  cause  to  fear  than  foreign  com- 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  47 

petition  1  It  may  be  said  there  is  a  boundary  in  Ame 
rica  to  rice  cultivation  from  limitation  of  suitable  land. 
Let  the  rice  planters  consider  well ! !  Do  they  not  at 
present,  at  least  some  of  them,  find  in  their  possession  a 
little  piece  of  machinery  at  which  they  rejoice  exceed 
ingly.  It  throws  up  water  with  the  greatest  rapidity, 
and  irrigates  rice  estates  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
Now,  if  that  engine  or  any  other  remedy  be  found  to  give 
command  over  the  course  of  the  waters  flow,  and  if  irri 
gation  can  be  so  effected,  whole  districts  may  be  called 
into  that  cultivation  ;  and  then,  who  will  purchase  a  rice 
plantation  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars,  more  or 
less,  per  acre  ?  yea,  who  would  purchase  at  all  when  they 
could  get  land  for  a  song?  Let  rice  planters  dwell  upon 
this  point,  and  reflect  if  rice  be  fifteen  per  cent,  lower 
now  than  it  has  been  nine  years  ago.  Should  double  the 
quantity  of  land  be  brought  into  cultivation  what  would 
be  the  consequence  ?  The  first  effect  would  be  from  the 
use  of  such  power  over  water,  that  there  would  be  no  sales 
for  rice  lands  beyond  the  value  of  the  formerly  waste 
lands.  The  second  would  be,  the  influx  into  the  cultiva 
tion  would  reduce  prices  to  a  rate  that  would  leave  rice 
land  valueless  and  the  rice  planters  beggars.  The  rice 
planter,  as  well  as  cotton  planter,  and  every  American, 
is  deeply  interested  in  promoting  the  cultivation  of  other 
articles,  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  public  from  the 
two  only  channels  now  left  them,  and  keep  them  from 
being  choked  up  by  the  dense  mass  of  people  who  must, 
from  hard  necessity,  rush  into  them. 

I  believe  the  foregoing  review  of  the  existing  position 
of  these  States  suffices  to  show  the  necessity  of  enter 
prise. — the  necessity  of  their  people  doing  something 


48  AGRICULTURAL   AKD    COMMERCIAL 

practical  to  relieve  the  two  afore  mentioned  articles  of 
commerce  from  depression.  To  give  some  opening  for 
the  employment  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the  cultivators  ; 
for,  if  all  go  on  cultivating  cotton  or  rice,  all  must  bo 
ruined. 

LIST    OF    ARTICLES    PROPOSED    FOR     INTRODUCTION     INTO 
AMERICA. 

I  beg  to  lay  before  the  American  community  the  fol 
lowing  list  of  articles  for  introduction  into  the  country ; 
and,  before  proceeding  to  do  so,  it  may  be  right  to  say, 
that,  with  the  subject  I  am  about  to  enter  on  in  the  fol 
lowing  pages,  I  am  perfectly  conversant,  from  a  long  ex 
perience  of  fourteen  years  ;  that  my  knowledge  of  the  tea 
plant,  Indigo  plant,  and  these  manufactures,  the  date, 
the  mangoe  and  leeche  tree,  &c.,  &c.,  is  not  derived  from 
others,  or  are  the  following  pages  a  compilation  from 
magazines,  &c.  I* have  been  five  years  cultivating  and 
manufacturing  indigo,  saltpeter,  £,c.,  £c.,  and  nearly 
six  in  the  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  tea,  &c.  ;  and 
ten  years  in  the  field,  at  one  time  or  the  other,  in 
terested  in  every  department  of  agriculture,  has  given  me 
an  acquaintance  with  the  subjects  that  I  may  say,  with 
out  fear  of  contradiction,  no  other  person  has  had.  My 
visit  to  America  was  in  consequence  of  the  advice  and  en 
couragement  of  the  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  your  minister 
at  St.  James.*  Prior  to  my  correspondence  with  Mr.  Law 
rence,  I  had  some  communication  with  the  consul  at  Dublin; 
both  gentlemen  laid  the  communications  before  the  Wash 
ington  Executive  Government,  and  when  Mr.  Lawrence  re 
ceived  a  reply,  he  advised  me  to  come  over  here  personally. 

*  See  Correspondence  in  Patent  Office  Report  of  1851. 


STAPLES  OF  AND   FOK  AMERICA.  49 

I  will  now  beg  to  insert  copies  of  letters  from  several 
gentlemen  known  to  the  citizens  of  America  generally  : 

AGRICULTURAL  KOOM,  ) 

U.  S.  Patent  Office,  May  5th,  1851.  f 

The  bearer,  Mr.  Frank  Bonynge,  is  a  gentleman  who 
has  had  considerable  experience  in  the  culture  of  tea  and 
indigo  plants,  and  their  manufacture  in  the  East  Indies, 
and  visits  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
tea  plantation  in  such  locality  as  shall  appear  most  fa 
vorable.  I  have  examined  an  essay  from  his  pen  of 
thirty-five  pages,  seen  his  letters  of  commendation  from 
Liverpool,  and,  from  information  derived  from  Baron 
Von  Gerott,  Prussian  minister  resident  in  Washington, 
I  believe  him  to  be  a  man  of  integrity,  and  his  purposes 
an  object  of  great  importance  to  the  Southern  States. 
(Signed)  DANIEL  LEE, 

And  Editor  of  the  Southern  Cultivator, 
AUGUSTA,  GA, 

And,  in  another  letter,  Dr.  Lee  further  writes,  "  Your 
communication  to  the  Hon.  Abbot  Lawrence,  on  the  cul 
ture  and  manufacture  of  tea,  will  be  published  in  my 
next  official  report,  of  which  Congress  has  ordered  130,000 
volumes  printed  and  bound." 
Yours  respectfully, 

(Signed)  DANIEL  LEE. 

F.  Bonynge,  Esq. 

I  have  conversed  with  Mr.  Bonynge,  seen  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  Dr.  Lee,  of  Washington,  and  read  a 
manuscript  of  Mr.  Bonynge's  on  the  subject  of  the  tea 
plant,  and  also  with  the  productions  of  some  plants, 


50  AGRICULTURAL   AND   COMMERCIAL 

% 

fruits,  &c.,  as  well  as  the  indigo.  I  have  read  a  letter 
from  Daniel  Willis,  of  Liverpool,  recommending  Mr 
Bonynge  to  Messrs.  Loison  and  Silvester,  of  New 
Orleans,  speaking  in  most  favorable  terms  of  him.  .  . 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  stating,  that  Mr.  Bonynge  pos 
sesses  more  information  on  this  subject  than  any  person 
with  whom  I  have  conversed. 

(Signed)  JNO.  BACKMAN. 

CHARLESTON,  S.  CAROLINA,       ) 
Mayor's  Office,  July  18th,  1851.  J 

This  will  certify,  that  Mr.  Francis  Bonynge  has  some 
time  passed  been  zealously  engaged  in  bringing  to  the 
notice  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston  the  advantages  of  in 
troducing  into  the  South  Atlantic  States  of  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  &c.,  the  tea  and  indigo  plants,  the 
date,  mangoe,  and  leeche  trees,  &c.,  £c. 

A  considerable  interest  has  been  awakened  in  this  city, 
among  a  respectable  portion  of  our  citizens,  on  the  subject 
thus  introduced  by  Mr.  Bonynge,  and  there  is  a  fair 
prospect  of  future  encouragement  to  him  in  his  under 
taking. 

He  is  about  leaving  this  city  on  a  temporary  visit  to 
our  neighbouring  cities  and  towns,  to  submit  his  proposals 
to  such  as  may  be  disposed  to  contribute  their  aid,  by  sub 
scribing  to  the  above  object,  Mr.  Bonynge  has  made  a 
universally  favorable  impression  on  all  who  have  made 
his  acquaintance  here,  and  warrants  me  in  recommending 
him  as  a  gentleman,  intelligent  and  experienced  in  the 
department  he  is  engaged  in,  and  who,  by  his  approved 
intercourse  among  us,  is  entitled  to  the  encouragement 
and  favorable  consideration  of  every  well-disposed  citizen 
or  gentleman. 

(Signed)  JOHN  SEHNIERLE,  Mayor. 


STAPLES   OF   AND    FOE   AMERICA.  51 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE.          ? 
Savannah,  28th  July,  1851.  f 

I  cheerfully  concur  in  the  foregoing  recommendation  of 
Mr.  Bonynge  to  the  encouragement  and  favorable  notice 
of  our  citizens,  &c. 

(Signed)        ROBEKT  H.  GRIFFEN, 

Acting-Mayor. ' 

SAVANNAH,  JULY  12TH,  1851. 
MR.  FRANCIS  BONYNGE, 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  favor  of  the  10th  instant  is  at  hand.  When  you 
first  arrived,  I  was  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  Washing 
ton,  but  before  I  left  there  was  at  my  request  a  favor 
able  notice  in  the  Savannah  Republic.  I  left  for  you  a 
letter  to  Dr.  James  Scriven,  a  gentleman  of  wealth  and 
affluence,  and  a  thorough  planter.  I  am  but  just  re 
turned  home,  and  have  not  been  able  to  see  the  planters 
of  the  vicinity,  but  I  think  many  would  subscribe. 

I  own  two  tracts  of  land  in  the  south-western  part  of 
the  State — one  of  250  acres  in  Early  county,  and  one  of 
490  acres  in  Irwin  county,  either  or  both  of  which  I  will 
cheerfully  contribute.  I  shall  be  here  for  several  days, 
and  would  advise  your  visiting  Savannah. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  R  R  CUYLER. 

F.  BONYNGE,  ESQ., 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  have  just  seen  an  announcement  of  your  arrival  in 
Charleston.  It  seems  your  object  is  to  introduce  among 
us  several  plants  and  trees  hitherto  untried,  and  but 


52  AGRICULTURAL  AND.  COMMERCIAL 

little  known  here.  I  would  be  pleased  to  see  such  ex 
periments  fully  carried  out.  Having  in  South  Carolina 
every  variety  of  soil,  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief,  that 
some,  if  not  all  you  propose,  would  succeed.  Under  this 
impression,  I  offer  you  a  location  on  my  lands  near  this 
place.  I  have  on  my  property  (the  C.  and  R.  R.  runs 
through  my  plantations,  about  twenty-six  miles  above 
Columbia)  every  variety  of  soil  particular  in  this  section 
of  the  Statej  also  two  other  varieties  some  distance  from 
the  road.  You  can  have  your  choice,  after  examination. 
&c.,  &c. 

Yours,  with  respect, 
(Signed)  OSMOND  WOODWARD. 

Taken  from  the  three  Daily  Papers  of  Charleston. 
"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  South 
Carolina,  held  at  their  farm  on  Tuesday,  the  15th  inst., 
the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Bonynge  (late  from  India),  to  in 
troduce  the  tea  culture,  as  well  as  that  of  the  coffee,  the 
date,  mangoe,  indigo,  and  other  tropical  plants,  into  the 
State,  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  society.  Mr. 
Bonynge  being  present,  the  society  came  to  the  resolu 
tion,  that  the  enterprise  was  a  laudable  one,  and  calcu 
lated  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  They 
highly  approve  of  the  views  of  Dr.  Lee,  of  the  Patent 
Office  department,  Washington,  as  published  in  the  daily 
papers  of  our  city  recently,  and  tended  to  Mr.  Bonynge 
the  use  of  their  farm  on  which  to  commence  his  experi 
ments." 

(Signed)  JOS.  P.  O'HEAR,  Secretary. 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR  AMEEICA.  53 

From  the  Southern  Cultivator. 
TEA  CULTURE  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 

THERE  is  a  gentleman  in  Georgia  who  has  had  several 
year's  experience  in  India  in  the  culture  of  tea  plants, 
and  the  manufacture  of  tea  ;  and  it  seems  to  be  our  duty 
to  bring  the  matter  fairly  before  our  readers.  For  rea 
sons,  not  of  a  personal  or  private  character,  we  have  for 
some  time  abstained  from  making  public  the  information 
in  our  possession  on  this  subject.  As  early  as  July, 
1850,  the  Hon.  Abbot  Lawrence  sent  a  communication 
from  Mr.  Francis  Bonynge  (the  gentleman  in  Georgia  to 
whom  we  allude),  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Inte 
rior,  on  the  production  of  tea  in  this  country,  which  came 
to  the  Agricultural  Desk  in  the  Patent  Office,  occupied 
by  the  writer.  We  have  deemed  the  letter  of  Mr.  Law 
rence,  and  the  communication  of  Mr.  Bonynge,  of  suffi 
cient  interest  to  insert  in  the  Agricultural  Report  for 
1850 ;  and  we  have  read  a  paper  of  some  thirty-five 
manuscript  pages,  written  by  Mr.  B.,  to  be  used  before 
the  British  Parliament,  and  seen  him  several  times  during 
his  stay  in  Washington. 

If  success  in  the  growing  and  curing  of  tea  leaves  de 
pended  on  the  very  precarious  life  of  an  insect,  like  that 
of  the  silkworm,  we  should  be  extremely  cautious  how  we 
encouraged  even  an  experiment  in  the  business.  But 
the  simple  matter  of  picking  the  green  leaves,  is  the  great 
labor  in  tea-making,  as  picking  is  the  serious  work  in 
cotton  culture.  From  twenty  to  thirty  pounds  of  green 
leaves  are  a  day's  work  for  a  feeble  Asiatic  to  gather ;  and 
we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  hundred  hands  in 
China  do  not,  on  an  average,  pick  so  much  cotton  in  a 


54  AGRICULTURAL  AND   COMMERCIAL 

day,  as  fifty  in  the  Southern  states.  Indeed,  this  is  the 
secret,  or  one  of  them,  why  the  Chinese  cannot,  and  do 
not,  compete  successfully  in  cotton  culture  -with  the  read 
ers  of  this  journal.  A  tea  tree  needs  to  be  replanted 
only  once  in  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ;  and  an  acre  will 
yield  about  1200  pounds  of  green  leaves  a  year,  which 
will  make  300  pounds  of  merchantable  tea.  Mr.  Bonynge 
employed  some  two  hundred  hands,  and  manufactured  tea, 
after  the  leaves  were  gathered,  at  less  than  an  English 
penny  per  pound.  The  East  India  Tea  Company  is  now 
making  about  200,000  chests  a  year,  and  produce  a  very 
superior  article.  The  people  of  the  United  States  annu 
ally  consume  over  20,000,000  Ibs.  ;  and  those  of  Great 
Britain  over  50,000,000  Ibs.  It  is  truly  one  of  the 
greatest  staples  of  civilized  man,  and  one  that  we  regard 
as  coming  legitimately  within  the  sphere  of  Southern 
climate,  soil,  labor,  capital  and  enterprise.  Of  course, 
we  esteem  it  as  a  matter  of  experiment  only ;  but  an 
experiment  which  ought  to  be  fairly  made,  for  if  success 
ful,  incalculable  advantages  to  the  South  will  certainly 
follow. 

We  want  that  Mr.  B.  should  see  the  tea  plants  near 
our  friend  Mr.  A.  R.  Kilpatrick  of  Trinity,  La.,  referred 
to  by  him  in  the  May  number  of  the  Cultivator.  The 
trouble  of  procuring  any  considerable  quantity  of  the  tea 
seeds  that  will  grow  after  they  arrive  in  this  country,  is 
quite  a  drawback  to  the  enterprize.  The  Patent  Office 
has  received  some  bushels,  but  not  a  seed  that  vegetated. 
The  operation  will  be  better  conducted  in  future  ;  at  least 
we  hope  it  may.  We  have  before  us  an  interesting  com 
munication  from  Mr.  Williams,  American  Consul  at 
Canton,  on  the  introduction  of  China  fruits  into  the 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  55 

United  States.  Mr.  Bonynge  has  spent  fourteen  years 
m  the  East,  and  describes  a  variety  of  coffee  acclimated 
in  a  region  so  high  above  the  ocean,  that  the  tree  bears 
well  in  a  climate  subject  to  pretty  severe  frosts.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  cotton  itself  is  a  tropical 
tree — not  naturally  an  annual  plant,  as  we  cultivate  it  in 
the  region  of  frost  There  is  nothing  improbable  in  our 
finding  coffee  trees  that  will  flourish  in  all  our  Gulf 
States,  as  far  North  as  150  miles  from  the  coast.  Man 
goes  and  other  fruits  are  also  worthy  of  trial.  A  chest 
of  tea  has  been  brought  from  Shanghae  to  the  White  House, 
for  the  President,  in  sixty-five  days,  via  San  Francisco 
and  Panama.  Once  it  took  nearly  three  years  to  circum 
navigate  the  globe ;  now,  with  good  luck  in  meeting 
steamers,  one  can  go  round  the  world  in  140  days.  In 
deed,  sailing  vessels  have  come  from  China  to  California 
in  thirty-three  or  thirty-five  days.  A  man  must  be  slow 
if  he  cannot  live  a  century  in  the  next  thirty-three  years. 

From  the  Charleston  Courier. 

TEA   CULTURE,    ETC.,    IN  THE    SOUTHERN    STATES. 

WE  received,  yesterday,  a  visit  from  Mr.  Francis 
Bonynge,  a  gentleman  who  has  spent  fourteen  years  in 
the  East,  actively  engaged  in  the  cultivation  and  manu 
facture  of  indigo,  sugar,  saltpetre,  tea  and  coffee,  and 
whose  present  object  is  to  introduce  into  the  Southern 
States  the  culture  of  the  Tea  plant,  the  Mango  tree, 
Date  tree,  Coffee  plant,  &c.,  and  the  melons  and  vege 
tables  of  the  East  Indies,  and  to  carry  out  the  manufac 
ture  of  the  tea  leaf,  and  also  of  the  indigo  plant,  and  to 
give  a  full  and  fair  trial  to  both  tea  and  indigo. 

Mr.  Bonynge  informs  us  that  the  soil  and  climate  of 


56  '    AGRICULTURAL   AND^  COMMERCIAL 

the  Southern  States  are  more  suited  to  the  cultivation  of 
tea,  than  those  even  of  China ;  and  that  indigo,  which  was, 
by-the-by,  formerly  produced  here,  can  be  grown  to  any 
extent ;  and  that  the  coffee  plant,  in  all  probability,  would 
flourish  here  to  great  advantage,  inasmuch  as  the  soil  and 
undalating  nature  of  the  land  would  be  in  its  favor,  and 
the  cold  of  the  latitude  of  this  city  is  not  so  intense  by  thir 
teen  degrees  as  that  of  the  east  of  China.  In  fact,  Mr. 
Bonynge  has  seen  this  plant  growing  wild  in  N.  latitude 
27°  30",  on  hills  of  from  three  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
height,  where,  too,  there  was  an  abundance  of  frost,  snow, 
and  hail. 

Our  space  will  not  allow  us  at  present  to  give  further 
particulars  of  this  matter ;  Mr.  Bonynge  has  with  him 
the  strongest  testimonials  in  favor  of  his  project  from  the 
Hon.  Abbot  Lawrence,  our  Minister  at  the  court  of  St. 
James,  Daniel  Lee,  Esq.,  of  the  Patent  Office  in  Wash 
ington,  and  editor  of  the  Southern  Cultivator,  and  other 
gentlemen  alike  distinguished  for  their  position  in  society, 
and  their  literary  and  scientific  attainments,  which  he 
will  take  much  pleasure  in  showing  to  those  who  may 
feel  desirous  of  becoming  fully  acquainted  with  the  sub 
ject.  We  ourselves  regard  the  introduction  of  these 
plants  into  our  State  a  great  desideratum,  and  conse 
quently  call  the  attention  of  our  planters,  and  such  of 
our  citizens  as  may  be  interested  in  the  matter,  to  the 
visits  of  Mr.  Bonynge  to  our  city. 

CULTIVATION^  OF   TEA,    INDIGO,   ETC.,    IN    GEORGIA    AND 
FLORIDA. 

WE  are  indebted  to  a  friend  for  a  most  interesting  cor 
respondence,  some  of  the  details  of  which  we  hasten  to 


STAPLES   OF   AND   FOR   AMERICA.  57 

lay  before  our  readers.  Mr.  Frank  Bonynge,  now  in 
Charleston,  will  soon  visit  Savannah,  with  a  prospectus 
for  furnishing  tea,  indigo,  and  other  East  India  plants, 
which  are  calculated  to  grow  in  Georgia  and  Florida. 
Mr.  Bonynge  has  the  best  possible  evidences  that  he  may 
be  relied  upon.  He  has  passed  fourteen  years  in  the 
country  where  these  plants  grow,  and  is  perfectly  ac 
quainted  with  the  whole  subject.  His  essay  on  the  culture 
and  preparation  of  tea,  &c.,  will  form  an  important  part 
of  the  next  Patent  Office  Report. 

Subscribers  to  this  important  undertaking  will  have  a 
claim  to  twelve  tea  plants,  twelve  mangoe  plants,  twelve 
datetree  plants,  twelve  leechee  tree  plants,  twelve  coffee 
plants,  four  ounces  of  melon  seed,  each  kind,  half  pound 
indigo  seed  (if  required).  Subscriptions  are  $50  each. 
Subscribers  to  the  amount  of  $100  will  be  entitled  to  the 
above,  and  any  other  plants  from  India  which  they  may 
desire.  $25  will  procure  one  half  of  the  above  quantity 
of  plants. 

We  are  persuaded  that  this  enterprize  of  Mr.  Bonynge 
is  destined  to  be  a  source  of  vast  profit  to  the  Southern 
States,  through  the  agency  of  slave  labor.  It  only 
remains  for  a  few  gentlemen  in  Georgia  and  Florida,  by 
their  subscriptions,  to  do  an  immense  probable  benefit  to 
their  respective  States.  We  commend  this  project  to 
our  planters  in  serious  earnestness,  and  we  recommend 
Mr.  Bonynge  to  the  friendly  reception  of  our  fellow  citi 
zens,  when  he  shall  arrive  here.  That  tea  can  be  grown 
successfully  in  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida,  is  almost 
certain,  because  the  experiment  has  been  pretty  fairly 
tried.  The  thermometer  at  Shanghai  indicates  a  cold 
more  severe  by  13°  than  in  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  cold 
3* 


58  TEA   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

winter  of  34,  35,  which  destroyed  the  oranges  on  Mr. 
Middleton's  plantation,  left  his  tea  plants  uninjured. 
Mr.  Bonynge  has  seen  coffee  growing  wild  in  North 
latitude  27°  30",  on  hills  of  from  three  to  five  hundred 
feet  in  height,  where,  too,  there  was  an  abundance  of 
frost,  snow,  and  hail.  As  for  indigo,  that  substance  has 
already  been  grown  to  great  advantage  in  this  State. 

We  proceed  to  give  some  interesting  statistics  from  a 
communication  of  Mr  BONYNGE. 

Fromjhe  Baltimore  Sun. 

TEA      IN     SOUTH     CAROLINA. 

The  Charleston  Courier  notices  the  arrival  in  that  city 
of  Francis  Bonynge,  a  gentleman  who  has  spent  fourteen 
years  in  the  East,  actively  engaged  in  the  cultivation 
and  manufacture  of  indigo,  sugar,  saltpetre,  tea,  and 
coffee,  and  whose  present  object  is  to  introduce  into  the 
Southern  States  the  culture  of  the  tea  plant,  the  mangoe 
tree,  date  tree,  coffee  plants,  &c.,  and  the  melons  and 
vegetables  of  the  East  Indies,  and  to  carry  out  the  man 
ufacture  of  the  tea  leaf,  and  also  of  the  indigo  plant,  and 
to  give  a  full  and  fair  trial  to  both  tea  and  indigo. 

Mr.  Bonynge  says  that  the  soil  and  climate  of  the 
Southern  States  are  more  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  tea 
than  those  even  in  China,  and  that  indigo,  which  was, 
by-the-bye,  formerly  produced  in  the  Southern  States, 
can  be  grown  to  any  extent,  and  that  the  coffee  plant,  in 
all  probability,  would  flourish  there  to  great  advantage, 
inasmuch  as  the  soil  and  undulating  nature  of  the  land 
would  be  in  its  favor,  and  the  cold  of  the  latitude  of 
Charleston,  is  not  so  intense  by  thirteen  degrees,  as  that  of 


PROSPECTUS.  59 

the  east  of  China.  In  fact,  Mr.  Bonynge  has  seen  this 
plant  growing  wild  in  N.  latitude  27  deg.  30  min.,  on 
hills  of  from  three  to  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  where, 
too,  there  was  an  abundance  of  frost,  snow,  and  hail. 

From  the  Augusta  Sentinel. 

TEA  CULTURE. 

We  take  pleasure  in  laying  before  our  readers  the 
annexed  Prospectus  proposing  to  introduce  the  tea  cul 
ture  into  the  South. 

Mr.  BONYNGE  has  spent  fourteen  years  in  India  and 
China,  where  the  tea  and  other  plants,  which  he  proposes 
to  introduce,  are  cultivated,  and  professes  to  be  thorough 
ly  acquainted  with  their  cultivation.  He  comes  well  and 
favorably  commended  by  men  of  high  character,  and 
we  take  pleasure  in  commending  him  and  his  enterprise 
to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  people. 

PROSPECTUS 

For  the  introduction  into  America  of  the  tea  plants, 
mangoe,  date  and  leechee  trees,  the  indigo  and  coffee 
plants,  and  all  the  various  kinds  of  table  vegetables, 
yams,  &c. 

Subscribers  to  the  undertaking  will  have  a  right  to 

12  Tea  Plants,  12  Date  Plants, 

12  Mangoe  "  12  Leechee  "  [kind. 

12  Coffee     "  4  oz.  of  Melon  seeds  of  each 

|  Ib.  E.  I.  Indigo  Seed. 

Subscribers  of  $100  will  be  put  in  possession  of  the 
above,  and  any  other  kind  of  plants  they  may  desire,  a 
list  being  supplied  by  Mr  Bonynge. 


60  SUBSCRIBERS  TO   PROSPECTUS. 

• 

Subscribers  to  this  amount  will  be  entitled  to  have  an 
agent  instructed  in  tea  culture  and  manufacture,  and  in 
steeping,  vat  beating,  precipitating,  and  boiling,  &c.  of 
indigo. 

Subscribers  of  $50,  will  be  entitled  to  the  above  plants 
and  seeds. 

Subscribers  of  $25  will  be  entitled  to  one-half  the 
above  plants  and  seeds. 

Gentlemen  upon  whom  Mr.  B.  cannot  personally  call 
will  please  to  direct  to  the  care  of  R.  R.  Cuyler,  Esq., 
or  J.  P.  Screven,  M.  D. 

FRANCIS  BONYNGE. 

GENTLEMEN  WHO   HAVE  SUBSCRIBED  FOR  PLANTS    IN 

ORDER  TO  FORWARD  THE    INTRODUCTION  OF  TEA,  IN- 

DIGO  PLANTS,  THE  DATE,  LEECHEE  AND  MANGOE. 

Hon.  Wm.  Aiken,  Charleston,  Planter,  $100  00 

T.  B.  Lucas,  Esq.  "  "  and  Merch. 

Dr.  Jas.  Moultrie,  Esq.  "         Private  citizen, 

J.  R.  Mathews,  Esq.      "         Planter,  " 

Wm.  Middleton,  Esq.     "  "  " 

J.  E.  Carew,  Esq.  Merch.  &  prop,  of  the  Mercury  " 
James  Rose,  Esq.  Pres.  R.  R.  Bank  &  Planter 
Charles  Alton,  Esq.  Charleston,  Planter 

John  Ravenel,  Esq.         "         Planter  &  Merch.  " 

Henry  Ravenel,  Esq.      "         Pres.  Union  Bank,  " 

Wm.  C.  Dukes,  Esq.      "         Planter  &  Merch.  " 

E.  Vanderhost,  Esq.       "  "  " 

Edw.  Barnwell,  Esq.  Jr.  "  "  and  Merch.  " 

Charles  Macbeth,  Esq.    "  "  and  Lawyer  " 

Rev.  P.  A  Lynch,  D.  D.  « 


SUBSCRIBERS  TO  PROSPECTUS.         61 

South  Carolina  Agricultural  Society,  their  farm 

at  Charleston. 
R.   R.   Cuyler,  Esq.,  Savannah,  Geo.,  President 

R.  R.  Bank,  750  acres. 

J.  P.  Scriven,  Esq.  M.  D.,  Planter,  $100  00 

Hon.  Langdon  Cheves,  "  50  00 

Wm.  P.  Bowen,  Esq.  "  50  00 

W.  W.  Starkie,  Esq.  50  00 

John  Wm.  Anderson,  Esq.       "  and  Merchant      50  00 
John  Williamson,  Esq.  Merchant  25  00 

Rt.  Rev.  Stephen  Elliott,  D.  D.  25  00 

James  Hamilton  Cowper,  Planter  50  00 

Pr.  R.  Moore, 

N.  C.  Trowbridge,  25  00 

D.  L.  Clinch,  Planter  100  00 

A.  B.  Lawton,     "  25  00 


TEA  PLANT. 

CULTIVATION,  STATISTICS.  TRADE,  &c. 


SOIL  AND  CLIMATE 


OF 


AMERICA  AND  CHINA 


COMPARED. 


IT  has  been  supposed  that  the  Chinese  could  bring 
their  barren  mountains  and  hills  under  tea  cultivation. 
They  may  do  so,  but  they  never  can  make  barren  or 
sterile  mountains,  nor  any  unfavorable  soil  produce  pro 
ductive  tea  trees.  It  is  a  physical  impossibility  for  the 
tea  plant  to  be  productive  in  other  than  a  soil  that  would 
be  capable  of  producing  other  things.  Tea  trees  as  well  as 
all  plants,  trees  and  vegetables  require  nourishment ; 
and  the  richer  and  deeper  the  soil  the  better. 

The  plant  likes  a  loose  loamy  soil,  of  a  yellow  to  a 
reddish  color.  It  does  not  like  a  hard  stiff  earth,  nor 
will  it  do  at  all,  in  a  dry  parched  or  baked  earth  ;  sand 
with  clay  mixed,  if  deep,  would  do  well ;  or  a  clay  soil 
with  sand  of  two  and  one-half  to  three  feet  deep  would  do 
well  also. 

The  root  of  the  tea-tree  penetrates  the  soil  downwards 
in  pursuit  of  sustenance  ;  therefore  if  the  soil  be  not  very 
rich,  but  deep,  it  will  do  well ;  and  for  the  same  reason 


66  SOILS  OF  AMERICA  AND   CHINA. 

% 

the  tea  piant  can  support  a  very  severe  frost,  as  its  root 
extends  below  its  influence.  The  root  penetrates  di 
rectly  downwards,  having  none  of  any  size  extending 
horizontally  on,  or  near,  the  surface  of  the  earth,  for  frost 
to  injure.  In  case  of  a  very  soft  March,  and  moisture  that 
might  force  out  the  young  leaves,  and  then  frost  coming 
on  in  April,  it  would  injure  the  young  leaves,  not  the 
tree,  and  that  crop  might  be  lost,  but  the  other  three 
•would  be  all  safe.*  However,  the  leaves  of  the  finer 
teas  are  collected  soon  after  budding,  and  might  therefore 
escape  ;  and  in  any  case  it  could  be  only  a  part  of  the 
young  leaves  that  could  be  injured  from  an  irregular 
night's  frost.  It  happens  in  China,  that  the  April  crop 
is  at  times  more  or  less  damaged  by  frost.  However,  I 
do  not  not  refer  to  a  slight  hoar  frost,  but  a  smart  night's 
freezing. 

I  have  taken  up  a  tea  tree  of  some  35  feet  high ;  there 
were  but  a  very  few  horizontal  weak  roots.  The  mean, 
or  tap  root,  was  near  three-and-a-half  feet  in  length. 

Mr.  Ball  had  been  told  by  the  Chinese,  that  a  vast 
improvement  was  effected  in  green  tea,  by  bringing  the 
plants  from  the  hills  into  the  plains,  and  by  cultivation  and 
manure,  and  that  this  practice  had  existed  for  600  years. 
The  Catholic  missionaries  stated  to  Mr.  Ball,  that  "  the 
soil  should  consist  of  vegetable  mould,  sprinkled  with 
sand,  light  and  loose,  and  rather  moist ;"  and,  again,  the 
missionaries  replied,  "  that  the  tea  plant  may  be  planted 
either  in  a  rich  or  poor  soil,  sandy  or  garden  soil,  but 
that  which  is  moist  is  most  suitable ;"  and,  again,  they 
add,  "  Garden  grounds,  and  the  embankments  of  gardens 
or  fields,  are  the  most  favorable."  It  may  be  seen  from 

*  Four  crops  yearly. 


SOILS   OF   AMERICA    AND   CHINA.  67 

this,  that  what  tea  requires  is  depth  of  soil  and  moisture. 
"It  is  planted  as  a  hedge-shrub,  both  in  China  and 
Japan,  and  along  the  ridges  of  the  fields." — Catholic 
Missionaries.  The  soil  of  Chusan  is  very  light  and 
sandy ;  tea  is  grown  on  it  for  domestic  use,  not  for  ex 
port.  The  soil  of  Amoy  and  Quang-Tong  is  a  stiff  hard 
soil,  unfit  for  tea ;  it  is  grown  in  both  districts,  but  is  of 
so  inferior  a  quality,  and  there  being  no  possibility  to  roll 
the  leaf,  which  is  hard  and  dry,  and  the  returns  from  it 
are  so  trifling,  that  the  natives  will  not  manufacture  it 
beyond  the  simple  drying  of  the  leaves,  which  they  take 
into  Canton  in  baskets  for  sale,  and  dispose  of  it  at  two 
to  four  cents  per  Ib.  This  tea^is  very  largely  mixed 
with  the  good  teas,  and  sold  to  England  and  America. 

It  is  of  these  trees  the  Chinese  give  us  seeds.  Amoy 
is  in  the  24th  deg.  N.  lat.,  and  Quang-Tong  is  the 
province  of  the  city  of  Canton,  N.  lat.  23  degs. ;  and 
these  plants  being  at  hand,  the  Chinese  give  us  as  much 
seed  as.  we  require.  The  proper  tea  seeds  are  to  be 
found  some  1,000  to  1,200  miles  from  Canton,  and  260 
miles  from  Shanghae.  Traveling  is  slow  work  in  China ; 
there  are  no  steamers  or  railroads  there,  and  that  part  up 
from  the  25th  deg.  of  N.  lat.  is  exceedingly  mountainous. 
To  get  good  seed,  is  not  to  be  accomplished.  The  East 
Indian  British  Government  (and  no  party  had  the  same 
opportunities),  could  not  succeed  ;  and  brought  round  to 
Calcutta  large  quantities  of  these  seeds,  which  they  sent  to 
the  North- West  Kamoun,  and  to  the  North-East  Assam. 
I  cultivated,  and  had  several  thousand  plants  ;  the  As 
sam  Company  too,  the  only  other  party  cultivating  tea, 
got  in  proportion.  Neither  the  Company  nor  I  could  get 
any  tea  from  them,  except  we  stripped  off  all  the  leaves, 


68          TEMPERATURE    OF   AMERICA   AND   CHINA. 


. 


and,  like  the  Chinese,  dried  them,  in  which  state  we  could 
find  no  market. 

TEMPERATURE. 

Tea  will  not  bear  great  excess  of  temperature.  It 
would  live  in  the  open  air  in  England  or  Ireland,  if  it 
had  time  to  take  root.  There  is  a  large  plant  in  Kew 
Gardens  exposed,  but  I  believe  they  give  it  some  kind  of 
protection  in  the  cold  season.  I  am  of  opinion  that,  with 
perseverance,  tea  might  grow  in  Ireland,  as  fancy  hedges, 
by  a  great  deal  of  care  being  taken  the  first  year.  But 
these  pots  in  which  all  plants,  at  least  all  exotics,  are  con 
demned  to  linger  out  a  few  years  of  a  miserable,  stunted 
existence,  are  the  bane  of  all  success.  Look  at  a  tea 
plant,  with  its  length  of  root,  in  an  eight  or  nine  inch  pot ! 

There  is  no  country  subject  to  greater  extremes  of 
temperature  than  China.  In  the  month  of  April,  even 
as  low  as  31  deg.  of  N.  lat.,  the  cotton  and  other 
annual  plants  are  frequently  destroyed  by  frost ;  and  in 
the  29th  deg.  of  N.  lat.,  the  tea  plants  are  obliged  to  be 
covered  over  with  rice  straw,  and  bound  with  ropes,  to 
protect  them  from  frost  and  snow.  Mr.  Fortune  says  he 
saw  the  thermometer  stand  as  high  as  100  degs.,  in  the 
shade,  at  Shanghae,  and  that  it  invariably  fell  to  12  degs., 
Farenheit,  in  winter. 

It  is,  in  a  great  measure,  the  great  difference  in  the 
altitudes  of  China,  that  causes  so  great  varieties  in  its 
climates.  Fogan,  which  is  in  27  degs.  4  min.  N.  lat.,  is 
mild  throughout,  as  the  following  will  show  : — 


Fogan,     -    Mean  of  the  four  hottest  months,      82      0 
"          -     Annual  mean,  67       0 


EXPENSE   OF  TEA  PLANTING.  69 

C  i* 

Fogan,     -     Winter  mean,  -  57  0 

Charleston,  32  deg.  45  min.,  N.  latitude. 

The  mean  of  the  four  hottest  months,  81     34  average. 

"          Annual  mean,  ....         66     45        " 
Savannah,  32  deg.  5  min. 

"  Annual  mean,  -        ...        68      3        " 

Fogan  is  the  southern  point  of  the  tea  district,  which 
stretches  northward  up  to  31  degs.,  and  among  the  high 
and  cold  mountainous  regions.  Probably,  in  the  interior 
of  China,  in  valleys,  it  may  be  grown  some  degrees 
higher;  and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  it  is  grown 
higher  for  domestic  use. 

If  the  comparisons  of  the  climates  of  America  and 
China  be  followed  up,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tempera 
tures  of  32  degs.  5  min.  and  32  degs.  45  min.  of  Sa 
vannah  and  Charleston  are  the  same  as  27  degs.  4 
min.  of  Fogan,  China.  The  highest  altitude  of  Georgia, 
America,  is  under  2,000  feet ;  the  latitudes,  from  27 
degs.  upwards,  in  China  are  of  a  very  great  altitude, 
being  mountainous  regions.  The  cold  in  America  will 
be  very  much  moderated  when  cleared  of  its  continuous 
forests. 

EXPENSE   OF  CULTIVATING    TEA  IN    THE   VALLEY    OF 

ASSAM,   AND  IN  THE  TARTAR   COUNTRY, 

AND   RETURNS. 

The  following  estimate  of  expenses  of  cultivation  and 
manufacture  of  tea  on  1,000  acres,  was  made  out  for  a 
member  of  Parliament  in  1850  : 

One  Superintendent,  $250  per  month,  yearly,   -  $3,000 
"     1st  Class  Assistant,  $125     "  "  1,500 

«    2nd     "  "  $75     "  "          -        900 


70  SOIL   AND   CLIMATE   OF 

Clearing,  and  transplanting,  and  keeping  clear 

first  year  1,000  acres,  -----     4;875 
Elephants,  horses,  &c.,  purchase.  600 

Building  tools,  &c.,  -        -        -        -        -2  000 


Total, $12,875 

SECOND  YEAR. 

European  Superintendence,  &c.,       -  $7,200 

Weeding,  hoeing,  and  native  head  establishment,     2,375 
Manufacturing,  say  40  Ibs.  tea  to  an  acre,  or  on 

1,000  acres  40,000  Ibs.  at,      -  2,500 

Tea-chest  and  packing  charges,  $2  per  80  Ibs,   -     1,000  - 


Total, $13,075 

RETURNS. 

100,000  Ibs.  at  say  331     _                  .  $33,333 

THIRD  YEAR. 

European  establishment,  -  $8,700 

Hoeing  and  weeding  1,000  acres,  -    2,350 
Manufacturing,  say  200  Ibs.  per  acre,  of  tea  on 

1,000  acres=200,000  Ibs.  at  $3  for  80  Ibs.,     -     7,500 

Chest-packing,  charges  to  Calcutta,        -  -  .  5,000 


Total,  -  $23,550 

RETURNS. 

200,000  Ibs.  at  33£  cents  per  lb.,         -        -  $66,666 

FOURTH  YEAR. 

European  and  head  establishment,    -  $9,000 

Hoeing  and  weeding  1,000  acres,      -  2,350 
Manufacturing,  say  360  Ibs  per  acre,  $1  75  cents 

per  80  Ibs., "  "      7>500 

Chests,  packing,  and  charges  to  Calcutta,  -      9,000 

Total, $27,850 


AMEKICA  AND   CHINA  COMPARED.  71 

RETURNS. 

360  Ibs.  per  acre,  on  1,000=360,000  Ibs.  at  33£ 
per  cent,,       -        -        -        I        -        -       $120,000 

The  360,000  Ibs.  of  tea  would  cost  by  the  estimate, 
27,850  dollars,  or  7f  cents  per  Ib.  for  cultivation,  manu 
facture,  and  transportation,  some  1,400  miles,  to  Cal 
cutta. 

As  the  above  items  are  condensed,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  explain  them.  Salaries  of  Superintendents  on  the 
fourth  year  were  to  be— Superintendent,  350  dollars ; 
1st  Assistant,  250  dollars  ;  2nd  Assistant,  125  dollars  a 
month,  salary  ;  making  8,700  dollars,  leaving  300  dollars 
for  repairs  of  their  houses,  &c.  Hoeing  and  weeding — 
Hoeing  the  land  in  the  cold  half  of  the  year,  and  weeding 
it  once  during  the  rains. 

To  hoe  an  acre  of  land  in  America  2  men  are  allowed, 
and  of  course  it  would  not  require  more  to  cut  down 
young  soft  grass,  therefore  there  would  be  4  men  to  each 
acre  :  for  Indian  labor  there  are  allowed  20  men  at  6 
cents  per  diem  each  :  would  make,  on  1,000  acres,  1200 
dollars  only.  Then,  in  addition,  there  is  allowed  for  native 
head  establishment,  support  of  elephants  and  horses,  &c.? 
and  a  very  liberal  margin  for  the  managers  to  save  to  the 
company. 

Manufacturing  item  is  made  out  at  one  man  to  pick 
20  Ibs.  green  leaf,  wages  6  cents,  and  one  man  to  manu 
facture  40  Ibs.  into  dried  tea — 7,300  dollars. 

Chest  and  packing,  &c.,  all  the  wooden  and  leaden 
part  of  the  tea-chest  would  be  sent  from  London  to  Cal 
cutta,  and  from  Calcutta  to  Assam,  and  consequently 
be  very  expensive. 


72  PLANTERS   IN  THE  TARTAR  COUNTRY. 

• 

Under  all  these  difficulties,  which  would  not  exist  in 
America,  the  tea  on  the  fourth  year  would  not  stand  in 
more  than  7f  cents  per  lb.,  of  which  2  cents  might  be 
saved  in  packages  and  transmission  to  Calcutta,  making 
the  expenses,  at  the  very  outside,  only  5|  cents  per  lb. 

ACTUAL  EXPENSES  ON  45  ACRES  OF  TEA  LAND   IN  THE 

TARTAR  COUNTRY. 
My  own  table  per  month,  $50          - 
Hoeing  once,  and  weeding  once,  45  acres.     10 

men  to   hoe,  and  10  men  to  weed  an  acre. 

Wages,  6  cents,  for  hoeing  and  weeding  45 

acres, 54 

Picking  leaves,  one  man  20  Ibs.  of  green  leaf — 

one  acre  produced  (average)  128  Ibs. — on  45 

acres  5,760  Ibs.,  at  6  cents  for  every  20  Ibs.     -       172 
Manufacturing,  one  man  to  every  40  Ibs.  green 

leaf— 5,760  Ibs.,  at  6  cents  for  40  Ibs.,  86 

Chest,  per  80  Ibs.,  (quantity  put  into  a  chest) 

50  cents,   chest  for   14,400  Ibs.    dried  tea. 

These  chests  were  second-hand  China  tea- 
•  chests,         -  90 

*  Transit  to  Calcutta,  25  cents  per  80  Ibs.,         -          45 
Firewood  and  Charcoal,  7  cents  per  80  Ibs  for 

14,  000  Ibs.,  12 

Horses,  two — Elephants,  two — 10   dollars  per 

month. 

or  yearly,  120  dollars,  \  $72°  *  Divided 

Table  expenses  600  "  oa  2>°°°  acrf  - 

J      or  say  ^  part 

Total,       -  -        -      $459 

Return,  320  Ibs.  the  acre  on  45  acres — 14,400 
Ibs.t  sold  at  63  cents,  wholesale,     -  $9,072 

*  Of  former  year's  teas. 

t  This  tea,  with  a  large  quantity  of  other  tea;  was  burned  by  the  Tar 
tars;  the  teas  of  the  season  prior,  sold  for  63  centa. 


EXPENSE   IN  AMERICA.  73 

14,400  Ibs.  of  tea  cost,  all  expenses  included,  say  477 
dollars,  or  3J  cents  per  lb.  when  it  would  be  landed  in 
Calcutta. 

The  following  year,  in  the  middle  of  the  season,  I  was 
attacked  by  the  Tartars,  and  the  above  tea,  which,  from 
want  of  boats,  I  could  not  ship  to  Calcutta,  and  all  the 
tea  then  manufactured,  and  in  process  of  manufacturing, 
was  destroyed. 

PROBABLE  EXPENSE  OF  THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  TEA 
PLANT,  AND  MANUFACTURE  OF  TEA  IN  AMERICA,  ON 
100  ACRES. 

I  will  not  insert  an  item  for  superintendence,  as  the 
planter  would  know  best  the  care  and  expense  necessary  to 
manage  100  acres  of  land  under  cultivation.  The  price 
of  seeds  cannot  be  ascertained ;  nor  is  that  of  any  import 
as  tea  trees  last  25  to  30  years ;  so  the  planter  would 
have  to  purchase  seed  but  once. 

The  seeds  are  sown  the  first  year  in  beds,  from  which 
the  young  plants  are  transplanted  out  into  the  land  in 
tended  for  plantation.  I  suppose  one-half  acre  of  seedlings 
would  answer  for  100  acres  of  a  plantation. 

I  have  given  the  expense  of  the  first  year,  on  the  esti 
mate  of  1,000  acres  of  land,  at  13,075  dollars.  Circum-. 
stances  called  for  that  heavy  outlay.  The  company  was 
supposed  to  be  formed  in  London ;  the  scene  of  operation 
near  the  west  of  China,  under  management  of  agents ; 
and  therefore,  however  little  the  work  the  first  year,  the 
establishment  must  be  full.  In  an  unhealthy  climate,  as 
is  that  of  Assam,  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  trust  to  one 
superintendent,  as  the  natives  will  not  work  but  when 
closely  watched  ;  and  in  case  of  sickness,  there  must  be 
4 


74  EXPENSE   IN  AMERICA. 

4} 

some  person  to  take  charge.  The  case  is  different  in 
America,  where  every  farmer  may  have  his  tea  planta 
tion  attached  to  his  house. 

The  expense  the  first  year  would  be  for  hoeing,  pul 
verizing,  drilling,  &c.,  half  an  acre  of  land,  and  sowing 
the  tea  seeds,  say  six  men.  I  have  calculated  that  every 
slave  stands  his  owner  in  21  cents  a  day.  I  will  give 
the  calculations  at  the  end  of  the  book. 


Weekly,  say  one  man  one  day  for  ten  months, 
43_|_6  =49  days,  at  20  cents,  say, 


$10 


SECOND    YEAR. 

The  transplanting  might  be  done  in  October,  Novem 
ber,  January,  and  February,  or  as  the  weather  would 
permit.  Say  the  "  tea  year"  is  from  1st  September  to 
end  of  August. 

Clearing  underwood,  say  four  men  per  acre, 
or  100  acres  at  80  cents  per  acre,  -  -  $80  00 

Hoeing  100  acres,  four  men  per  acre,  at  20 

cents  each,  or  100  acres  at  80  cents  per  acre,  80  00 

Transplanting  100  acres,  two  men  per  acre,  or 

40  cents  per  acre,  -  -  -  -  -  40  00 

Hoeing  the  earth  round  plants,  two  men  per 
acre,  100  acres, 40  00 

Plucking  1 60  Ibs.  of  green  leaf  per  acre,  or  on 
100  acres  16,000  Ibs.,  one  man  to  pluck  30 
Ibs.;  therefore,  30  Ibs.  would  cost  20  cents, 
or  16,000  -  -  106  60 

Manufacturing,  in  the  absence  of  machinery, 
one  man  to  every  60  Ibs.  of  green  leaf= 
16,000  Ibs., 53  30 

Packing  cases  for  80  Ibs.,  say  50  cents,  for 

4,000  Ibs.  manufactured  tea,  -  -  -  25  00 

Sieves,  of  cane  or  bamboo — (I  cannot  say  what 
they  would  cost  here,  but  making  in  India 


EXPENSE   IN    AMEKICA.  75 

would  cost  about  five  cents) — say  50  cents 

each,  30 15  00 

Firewood  and  charcoal,  say  10  cents  for  every 

100  Ibs.,  or  4,000  Ibs.  4  00 

Cast-iron  pans,  four,  at  2  dols.  each,      -        -          8  00 

Total  expenses,       ...        -    $451  90 

RETURNS. 

40  Ibs.  per  acre,  or  on  100  acres  4,000  Ibs., 
which  may  be  valued  at  100  cents  for  some 
few  years,  ------  $4,000  00 

THIRD    YEAR. 

Hoeing  or  ploughing  100  acres  of  land,  say  -       $40  00 
Plucking  leaves — 800  Ibs.  of  green   leaf  per 
acre,  one  man  to  pluck  50  Ibs.,  or  20  cents 
for  every  50  Ibs.— 80,000  Ibs.,   -         -         -       320  00 
Manufacturing,  in  absence  of  machinery — one 
man  to  60  Ibs.  green  leaf,   or  20  cents  for 
every  60  Ibs.— 80,000  Ibs.,  -       266  60 

Sieves  (additional,  100),  at  50  cents  each,      -        50  00 
Pans  (4  pans  additional),  at  2  dols.  each,       -  8  00 

Charcoal  and  firewood,  -         -         -         20  00 

Packing  cases,   containing  80  Ibs.,  50  cents, 

20,000  Ibs.  dried  tea,  125  00 

Total  expense,       -  -  $829  60 

RETURNS. 

Per  acre,  200  Ibs.  of  dried  tea,  or  on  100  acres 
20,000  Ibs. ;  say  at  the  retail  prices,  or  a 
little  higher  first  years  of  introduction  of 
tea  into  America,  and  afterwards  20  cents 
per  lb.,  -  -  $4,000  00 

FOURTH    YEAR. 
Hoeing  over  100  acres,        -  $40  00 


76  EXPENSE   IN    AMERICA. 

• 

Sieves  (additional),  50,  at  50  cents  each,  25  00 

Plucking  leaves— say  1,200  Ibs.  of  green  leaf 

per  acre — on  100  acres,  120,000  Ibs.,  at  60 

Ibs.  for  20  cents,  -  -  -  -  -  400  00 
Manufacturing  60  Ibs.  green  leaf  at  20  cents, 

120,000  Ibs.,  -  400  00 

Charcoal  and  firewood,  10  cents  per  100  Ibs. 

dried  tea,  or  on  30,000  Ibs.  manufactured,  -  30  00 
Packages  for  80  Ibs.  50  cents,  on  30,000  Ibs.  -  187  50 

Total  expense,       -  -  $1,082  50 

RETURNS. 
Per  acre,  300  Ibs.,  or  30,000  Ibs.  on  100 acres; 

say  valued  at  20  cents  per  lb.,  -  $6,000  00 

It  is  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  on  some  of  the 
above  items : — 

Second  year  I  gave  4  m<*n  to  clear  brushwood,  per  acre. 
4  men  to  hoe  the  land,  per  acre. 
2  men  to  plant  it,  per  acre. 
"  2  men  for  a  second  hoeing,  per  acre. 

Total.         -          12  men,  per  acre. 

I  believe  planters  will  say  that  that  is  sufficient. 
There  is  not  much  underwood  in  the  American  forests, 
compared  to  the  forests  of  the  north-east  of  India,  where 
even  four  East  Indians  would  clear  an  acre  of  brushwood. 

After  the  second  year,  the  land,  if  hoed  once,  would  be 
sufficient,  except  there  was  a  very  rapid  growth  of  grass 
or  weeds  ;  even  the  clearing  away  of  such  would  be  but 
the  smallest  decimal,  not  TO  of  a  cent  per  lb. 

The  plucking  of  leaves,  I  put  down  60  Ibs.  for  one  man. 
This  is  more  than  I  used  to  get  picked  for  me  in  the  east- 


EXPENSE   IX   AMERICA.  77 

ern  frontier  of  India,  but  it  has  been  done  several  times. 
I  gave  a  certain  amount  for  every  20  Ibs.  of  green  tea  leaf, 
8  pice,  or  about  61  cents  ;  for  40  Ibs.  double  that  sum  ; 
and  for  60  Ibs.  treble  of  it.  Men,  women,  boys,  and  girls, 
each  picked  20  Ibs.  from  8  o'clock  A.  M.  to  2  o'clock 
P.  M.  Many  of  the  men,  and  some  of  the  women, 
plucked  40  Ibs.,  and  there  were  some  who  would  go  out 
early  in  the  morning,  and  collect  60  Ibs.  by  6  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  The  work  I  gave  men  to  hoe,  was  one 
acre  to  ten  men.  Well,  if  two  men  can  do  that  work  in 
America,  I  should  say,  one  man  would  pick  60  Ibs.  of 
green  leaf  in  the  day  ;  for  if  one  man  equalled  five  In 
dians  at  hoeing,  I  do  not  see  why  he  could  not  equal  the 
best  Indian  picker  of  leaves,  for  in  both  works  it  de 
pended  on  the  arms  and  perseverance ;  picking  leaves 
does  not  require  the  same  physical  powers  as  hoeing ;  it 
is  more  of  application  that  is  needed.  And  it  is  in  that 
quality  that  Easterns  are  defective. 

The  manufacturing  is  easy,  except  that  in  the  coarser 
kinds  of  teas  it  is  difficult  to  roll  the  old  leaves.  One  man 
can  easily  work  as  much  as  one  will  pick.  I  had,  for 
making  charcoal,  cutting  firewood,  and  manufacturing, 
three  men  to  every  five  pickers  of  leaves.  With  ma 
chinery  to  roll  the  leaves  two  men's  labor  would  be 
economized. 

In  the  fourth  year,  on  the  100  acres,  J.  have  shown 
that  30,000  Ibs.  of  tea  cost  to  manufacture,  &c., 
$1082  50,  being  but  33  cents  per  lb.,  and  that,  by  use  of 
machinery,  the  quantity  might  be  manufactured  for 
2-f  cents  per  lb.,  calculating  the  expense  of  slave-labor 
at  20  cents  per  diem. 


78  EXPENSE    IN   AMEKICA. 

But  calculating  it  at  50  cents  per  day,  for  free  labor, 
it  would  be  as  follows  : 

Hoeing  100  acres,  2  men  per  acre  -  $100  00 

Sieves,  (additional)  50  at  50  cents  each  25  00 
Plucking  leaves,  say  1200  Ibs.  per  acre,  of  green  leaf, 

one  man  60  Ibs.  at  50  cents,  or  120,000  Ibs.  1,000  00 
Manufacturing,  one  man  to  60  Ibs.  green  leaf,  or 

120,000  Ibs.  1;000  00 
Charcoal  and  firewood,  10  cents  per  100  Ibs.  dried  leaf, 

or  30,000  Ibs.  30  00 

Packages  for  80  Ibs.,  50  cents,  or  on  30,000  Ibs.  187  50 


Total  expense  $2,342  50 

30,000  Ibs.  for  82,843,  or  T-f  cents  per  Ib. 

This  would  be  a  means  of  not  only  enriching  the  cul 
tivator,  but  of  keeping  up  the  price  of  labor  to  some 
$180  a  year,  and  would  leave  the  cotton  trade  and  rice 
trade  to  fewer  hands.  It  would  give  employment  to  the 
many,  encourage  immigration,  and  give  to  all  a  greater 
degree  of  prosperity. 

The  trade  of  a  tea  maker  might  be  an  item  the  first 
season,  but  after  the  first  crop  every  man  in  the  business 
would  be  aufait.  Therefore  I  do  not  put  down  any 
item  for  a  tea  maker.  The  rolling  of  the  leaves  might 
be  done  by  machinery,  and  would,  at  the  first  estimate, 
in  which  I  allow  the  expense  of  a  slave  at  20  cents  a 
day,  be  a  saving  of  11  cents  per  Ib.;  or  in  the  second 
estimate,  wherein  I  allow  the  hire  of  labor  to  be  50  cents 
per  day,  a  saving  of  3a  cents  per  Ib.  Leaving  the  cost 
of  labor  50  cents,  still  with  machinery,  simple  in  its 
structure,  and  therefore  of  very  trifling  cost,  tea  would 
cose  the  planter  only  4T\  cents  per  Ib. 


EXPENSE   IN  AMERICA.  79 

It  is  most  desirable  that  these  estimates  be  keenly 
scanned,  and  to  enable  all  to  do  so,  it  will  be  well  to  ex 
plain  the  item  of  produce,  so  that  nought  may  be  taken 
on  ipse  dixit. 

It  is  shown  that  on  the  second  year  there  would  be 
per  acre,  from  1,210  young  plants,  160  Ibs.  of  green  leaf 
collected  throughout  the  year,  which  would  be  equal  to 
2J  ounces  for  each  tree.  Now,  if  that  21  ounces  be  di 
vided  by  four,  and  any  party  take  a  young  peach  plant, 
for  instance,  and  on  the  leaves  coming  out  in  April, 
pluck  such  as  would  not  injure  the  tree  ;  it  will  be  found 
there  would  be  but  a  few  leaves  required  to  make  one- 
half  or  even  one  ounce.  But  entering  on  the  fourth  year, 
the  acre  is  made  to  produce  1,200  Ibs.  green  leafj  or  1  Ib. 
of  green  leaf  from  each  tree  during  four  crops.  A  good 
tea  tree  will  grow  up  to  a  height  of  30  to  35  feet ;  but 
for  facility  of  plucking  leaves  it  is  kept  to  seven,  eight,  or 
nine  feet  in  height.  Any  person  so  disposed  may  select  a 
peach  tree  of  that  height,  of  most  luxurious  foliage,  and 
ascertain,  if  he  cannot  get  1  Ib.  of  leaves  off  it,  if  not  in 
one  collection,  at  least  in  four,  made  throughout  a  year. 

The  tea  tree  is  an  evergreen,  and  its  foliage  is  so  rich 
that  the  eye  cannot  penetrate  through  it ;  birds,  or  any 
thing  of  that  description,  could  rest  within  its  branches 
without  it  being  possible  to  obsewe  them.  The  tree 
throws  out  white  blossoms  of  sweet  fragrance,  and  when 
the  tree  is  plucked  it  throws  them  out  irregularly. 
There  is  nothing  so  delightful  or  refreshing  as  the  fra 
grance  from  a  tea  house  when  manufacturing  is  going 
on. 

A  tea  plantation  once  raised  is  a  permanent  property ; 
it  would  not  answer  those  rolling-stone  habits  of  the  mo- 


80  EXPENSE   IN   AMERICA. 

dern  Scythian  of  North  America,  *who  wanders  from  farm 
to  farm,  and  from  State  to  State.  A  tea  plantation  may 
go  on  for  100  years.  A  tree  will  last  25  years.  When 
it  shows  any  symptoms  of  decline,  it  only  requires  to 
drop  a  seed  by  its  side.  No  labor,  no  care,  no  loss  of 
time  is  thereby  occurred.  If  a  garden  hedge  be  required, 
a  fence  round  a  field,  or  ornamental  hedges,  it  will  answer 
all  such  purposes,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  would  yield 
a  most  valuable  crop. 

Let  it  be  inquired,  if  it  is  a  newly-heard-of  thing,  that 
tea  can  be  produced  under  some  six  cents  per  lb.  ? — or  if 
it  be  a  fresh  piece  of  information,  having  no  other  grounds 
for  its  truthfulness  than  the  well- arranged  figures  of  esti 
mates  ? 

EXPENSE    OF    CULTIVATION    AND    MANUFACTURE    OF    TEA 
IN    CHINA. 

IT  is  known  that  all  China  teas  sell  on  an  average  for 
20  cents  per  lb.  at  Canton,  after  crossing  mountains  and 
valleys  for  1,000  to  1,200  miles,  and  passing  through 
some  six  parties'  hands,  each  making  his  profits ;  and  if 
it  be  considered,  that  the  tea  that  cost  at  Canton  20  cents 
per  lb.,  by  the  time  it  is  retailed  here  averages  100  cents 
per  lb.  it  will  be  seen  the  price  is  enhanced  five  times. 
Well,  the  transportation  of  tea  from  the  districts  in  China 
to  Canton  is  more  expensive  than  is  its  passage  from 
Canton  to  America,  and  it  passes  through  on  the  China 
side  twice  as  many  hands  as  it  does  on  this  side  of  Can 
ton  ;  therefore,  if  the  price  of  production  be  only  on  the 
other  side  of  Canton  enhanced  in  proportion  as  it  has 
been  on  this  side,  it  would  leave  the  cost  of  cultivating, 
manufacturing,  &c.,  at  four  cents  per  lb. 


THE   ASSAMESE.  81 

The  writer  of  these  papers  has  shown,  that  in  the 
Tartar  country  his  teas  cost  him,  landed  in  Calcutta, 
2£  cents.  On  Selling  plantation,  under  the  care  of  an 
assistant,  Mr.  Locke,  he  made  tea  at  5  rupees  for  80 
Ibs.,*  or  about  3g  cents  per  Ib. ;  on  Ballijan  plantation, 
in  charge  of  another  assistant,  Mr.  Peters,  for  5  rupees 
8  annas  per  80  Ibs.,  or  3TV  cents  per  Ib.  Or,  if  the 
reader  will  refer  to  Java,  he  will  find  that  tea  had  been 
cultivated  there  under  the  very  illiberal  patronage  of  the 
Dutch  government,  who  lent  funds  to  the  planter,  from 
whom  the  government  received  the  crops,  and  allowed  for 
expense  of  labor,  manufacture,  and  profit  for  the  planter, 
only  21  pence  sterling,  or  5  cents,  per  Ib.  This  is  suffi 
cient  to  show  that  the  cost  of  production  varies  from  2  to 
«5  cents  per  Ib. 

STATE  OF  THE  PEOPLE  IN  ASSAM,  AND  THE  SINGPHOO,  OR 
TARTAR  COUNTRY,  WHERE  THE  ABOVE  TEA  HAD  BEEN 
CULTIVATED. 

If  this  article  seem  to  be  a  digression,  it  is  for  the 
purpose  of  comparing  the  opportunities  America  has  over 
the  above  countries. 

The  Assam  country  is  the  north-east  frontier  of  the 
British  East  India  Company's  territory,  from  25  degs. 
to  28  degs.  N.  lat.,  and  93  degs.  to  95  degs.  30  min. 
east  long,  of  Greenwich.  The  Singphoo,  or  Tartar  coun 
try,  lies  over  between  that  and  west  of  China.  The 
Assamees  are,  perhaps,  of  all  people,  sunk  to  the  lowest 
state  of  degradation  to  which  human  nature  can  be 
lowered.  Opium,  that  accursed  drug,  has  depopulated 
one  of  the  richest  valleys  that  can  be  found.  The  tra- 

*  Rupee  =  50c.     A  inond  is  the  eastern  measure,  and  contain  80  Ibs. 


82  THE  ASSAMESE. 

veller  may  now  wander  through  that  very  picturesque 
vale,  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  lofty  mountains  of  the 
Himmaleh  range,  varying  from  100  feet  upwards  to 
20,000  feet,  and  inclosed  in  an  amphitheatre  of  these 
mountains,  with  their  snow-white  tops  breaking  on  the 
view,  as  the  clouds  cleared  away,  or  dropped  down  their 
steep  sides.  There  rolls  the  mighty  Burampooter  at  his 
feet — being  the  connected  streams  of  the  Dihon,  Dibong, 
from  north  west  and  north-east,  and  the  Dihing  from  the 
east,  China — extending  some  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  width, 
rushing  down  in  its  angry  course,  sweeping  huge  trees 
along,  the  roar  of  its  waters  re-echoing  from  hill  to  hill, 
and  the  wild  woods  on  all  side ;  no  town  or  village  or 
dwelling  visible,  no  human  being  or  boat  to  be  seen, — all 
strikes  awe  into  the  heart  of  the  visitor  ;  and  be  he  a  free 
thinker  or  atheist,  the  grandeur,  the  wildness  of  the  scene, 
yea,  the  tumultuous  rage  of  that  great  river  itself,  would 
force  from  him  the  acknowledgment  of  a  Supreme  Power. 
It  is  in  that  valley  that  Providence  seemed  to  show  forth 
most  majestically  his  wonderful  works  ;  on  that  valley  he 
seemed  to  take  a  peculiar  pleasure  to  pour  all  natural 
blessing  for  the  residence  of  man  ;  and  in  that  valley  man 
has  cursed  his  own  existence,  and  by  the  vileness  of  his 
nature  reduced  himself  to  a  state  of  distress  not  to  be  con 
ceived,  through  the  use  of  opium.  The  tourist,  after  long 
and  painful  travelling  through  the  dense  forest,  following 
wild  elephant  tracks,  the  only  opening  in  the  woods, 
sometimes  going  back  from  the  place  of  his  destination, 
and  sometimes  north,  sometimes  west,  as  the  break  made 
in  the  underwood  might  lead,  with  leeches  crawling  up 
his  boots,  and  making  their  way  all  over  his  body,  or 
dropping  down  on  him  from  the  trees,  and  the  blood 
from  their  bitos,  from  himself  and  his  followers,  trail- 


THE   ASSAMESE.  83 

ing  in  their  course.  Unexpectedly,  he  debouches  on  a 
miserable  village ;  perhaps  there  may  be  ten  or  fifteen 
huts,  or  there  may  be  more,  with  the  greater  portion 
uninhabited  or  in  ruins.  The  people  he  finds  unin 
telligent  ;  they  stare  at  him  in  wonder ;  one-third  draw 
ing  huge  limbs  after  them,  affected  with  elephantises  ;  no 
cultivation  visible ;  but  the  forest  threatening  to  enclose 
them  in  its  dark  folds. 

The  man,  if  there  be  an  infant  in  question,  is  the 
nurse ;  the  mother  takes  the  man's  place,  and  does  all 
the  labor,  and  wrhen  that  is  done  turns  nurse,  and  the  man 
resorts  to  his  opium  cup,  or  his  opium  pipe  (for  opium  is 
drank  mixed  in  water,  or  smoked  as  tobacco  from  a  pipe), 
and  then  casts  himself  down  on  a  piece  of  tree-bark,  or  a 
mat,  on  the  damp  floor,  where  he  contracts  all  his  diseases. 
Infants  are  few.  Opium  destroys  the  powers  of  procrea 
tion  ;  and  the  greater  portion  of  Assamees  go  without  a 
child  to  a  premature  grave.  In  the  village  may  be  found, 
perhaps,  a  score  or  two  of  women ;  not  more,  probably, 
than  some  four  or  five  grown-up  men.  There  was  a 
village  near  the  Koojoo  plantation  with  only  two  men  and 
eighteen  women.  Opium  is  used  in  the  Tartar  county 
as  well  as  Assam.  During  life  no  man  is  so  miserable 
as  the  opium-eater.  In  a  few  years  he  becomes  a  thin, 
emaciated,  miserable  wretch,  incapable  of  exertions;  and 
when  left  any  time  without  the  use  of  that  fearful  drug, 
he  rolls  himself  on  the  ground,  in  the  most  miserable 
plight,  crying  piteously,  "  Kane  ne  !  kane  ne  !"  There 
is  no  opium. 

It  is  among  such  people  that  tea  in  Assam,  and  the 
Singphoo,  or  Tartar  country,  has  been  cultivated ;  and 
with  such  workmen  the  writer  has  made  teas  from  two 
cents  up  to  four  cents  per  Ib. 


84  THE   SINGPHOOS. 

4^ 

THE     SINGPHOOS. 

The  Singphoos,  or  Tartars,  who  came  originally  from 
Japan,  possess  an  extraordinary  degree  of  energy,  and 
suffer  not  so  much  from  opium  ;  however,  they  do  not 
give  themselves  up  to  the  habitual  use  of  it.  In  the  in 
terior  of  the  country  all  is  disorder  ;  chief  is  against 
chief,  and  clan  against  clan.  It  is  the  same  on  the  west 
ern  frontier,  bordering  Assam.  But  on  the  borders  of 
Assam  they  are  given  to  plunder ;  and  prior  to  the  Brit 
ish  taking  Assam,  they  used  to  rush  down  on  her,  and 
sweep  away  her  people  and  cattle,  and,  man  and  beast 
alike,  they  sold  to  the  people  in  the  interior ;  and  so  the 
Singphoos,  being  in  possession  of  slaves,  thought  it 
slavery  to  work.  Consequently,  there  never  was  enougli 
of  provisions  to  last  for  the  whole  year,  and  when  their 
supply  would  be  exhausted,  they  then  sought  in  the 
woods  for  yams,  the  soft  top  of  the  bamboo,  and  other 
vegetables  of  a  similar  kind ;  or  they  would  watch  from 
behind  a  tree  a  whole  day  to  get  a  pot  shot  at  a  pig  orva 
deer,  for  they  had  but  little  powder,  and  their  ball  was 
a  hammered  piece  of  iron,  and  they  could  not  afford  to  lose 
either  by  missing  fire.  Elephants  they  shot  with  a  poi 
soned  dart,  fired  from  a  gun.  The  poison  was  a  root 
called  bee,  which  they  pounded,  and  put  on  the  dart ;  the 
dart  was  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  long.  The  tusks 
they  took  away  and  sold  ;  the  body  was  useless.  Their 
religion  was  blood  for  blood.  I  heard  of  a  young  man 
who  killed  a  neighbor  in  a  fight.  He  had  to  flee  from 
the  murdered  man's  relatives  ;  but  two  of  them  followed 
him  several  months  until  they  found  him  out  at  Suddea, 
watched  him  at  night  until  they  found  where  he  con 
cealed  himself  to  sleep,  and  fell  upon  him  and  killed  him 


EXPENSE   IX    VARIOUS   PLACES.  85 

and  burned  his  corpse,  and  next  morning  displayed  his 
ashes  in  a  bamboo,  as  a  testimony  to  show  they  had 
performed  their  duty,  and  revenged  the  spirit  of  their 
departed  relative.  Such  were  the  characteristics  of  the 
two  classes  of  people  I  had  to  deal  with  to  make  tea. 

Would  Americans  have  no  advantage  over  such  people  1 
If  tea  could  be  produced  for  two  cents  a  pound  by  their 
agency,  why  cannot  the  people  of  these  United  States  do 
so  likewise  ? 

CULTIVATION   OF   THE   TEA  PLANT   IN   DIFFERENT 
COUNTRIES,    VIZ.: 

In  China, 

'  Assam,  Eastern  Frontier,  E.  India, 
'  Tartar  country,  joining  W.  of  China, 

"  Kamoun,  N.  West  of  E.  India, 

"  Java. 

China  tea  has  already  been  fully  discussed. 

ASSAM — PLANTERS. 

THE  Hon.  East  India  Co.  had  a  nursery  as  a  school, 
to  teach  the  people  the  art  of  tea  making. 

The  Assam  Tea  Co.,  with  a  capital  of  $2,500,000, 
had  several  plantations ;  and  Mr.  Francis  Bonynge  had 
four  plantations. 

These  were  the  only  parties  who  entered  into  the  culti 
vation  in  Assam.  The  Assam  Co.  is  still  in  existence. 
A  few  of  the  officers,  who  derive  salaries  from  the  concern, 
are  allowed  to  carry  it  on.  The  funds  they  have  on 
hand  were  not  of  any  importance  to  divide.  Their 
failure  arose  from  the  state  of  Assam,  already  shown ; 
and  from  their  never  employing  any  party  of  respectability 
to. manage  for  them  in  Assam ;  and  having  failed  so  far. 


86  SINGPHOO  COUNTRY — KAMOUN — JAVA. 

shareholders  refused  to  pay  up  any  further  sums  on  their 
shares.  There  was  the  most  grqgs  mismanagement. 
Servants  of  the  lowest  capacity,  who,  for  a  small  salary. 
were  willing  to  risk  their  lives  in  that  sickly  country, 
were  alone  sent  there,  to  manage  themselves  and  the 
Assamees,  of  whom  I  have  given  a  description  ;  and  of  the 
funds,  $700,000  were  spent  in  building  steamers,  &c., 
with  the  view  of  monopolizing  inland  or  river  freight 
from  the  Government,  instead  of  being  devoted  to  tea 
cultivation. 

In  the  Tartar  or  Smgphoo  country,  the  only  planter 
was  Mr.  Francis  Bonynge,  who  had  4  plantations. 

KAHOUN,   NORTH   WEST   OF   EAST   INDIA. 

The  Hon.  East  India  Company  were  the  only  planters. 

Another  wild  scheme  was  started  last  year,  in  which 
the  writer  was  asked  to  take  part,  but  declined.  It  has 
since  been  placed  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Fortune, 
who  visited  China,  and  who  has  no  further  knowledge  of 
tea  matters. 

This  is  the  part  of  India  where  there  is  the  least 
rains  ;  and  tea  will  not  do  without  moisture.  Planting  in 
that  district  will  be  a  failure.  The  Hon.  East  India 
Company  have  been  at  it  for  15  years,  and  have  done 
no  good. 

JAVA — PLANTERS. 

Another  wild  scheme  was  set  on  foot  by  the  Dutch 
Government  of  advancing  money  to  planters  (natives  and 
Chinese),  and  taking  the  crop  from  them  at  5  cents  per 
Ib.  The  illiberality  of  Government  defeated  itself. 
They  were  like  the  man  who  wearied  himself  to  raise  a 


RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING.  87 

plarik,  forgetting  that  he  was  sitting  on  it  all  the  time. 
So  far  there  is  an  account  of  tea  cultivation  in  different 
countries.  The  only  white  man  who  ever  cultivated  tea 
out  of  China,  on  his  own  account,  is  the  writer  of  these 
papers. 

CAUSE   OF   RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING. 

The  Hon.  East  India  Government  induced  me  by 
letter,  promising  me  a  grant  of  Koojoo,  Buramanjan  and 
Gin-lang,  and  protection  for  myself  and  people,  to  enter 
the  Tartar  country — of  a  part  of  which  they  had  taken 
possession.  On  the  strength  of  these  promises,  I  pro 
ceeded  to  the  country,  with  the  view  of  civilizing  the 
people,  and  also  to  better  myself.  I  worked  hard  in  that 
out-of-the-way  country  (which  although  larger  than  some 
of  the  U.  States,  has  not  yet  found  a  place  on  the  Maps  of 
the  World),  for  five  years.  During  that  time,  the  Tartars 
took  up  arms  to  drive  the  British  from  the  country,  but 
proved  unsuccessful.  However,  Government,  for  cause 
or  causes  not  assigned,  and  without  any  notice  to  me, 
withdrew  the  guard  from  Koojoo,  and  also  the  surround 
ing  guards,  and  so  resigned  the  country,  to  all  appear 
ance  ;  and  the  Tartars,  who  viewed  me  as  the  then  sole 
representative  of  the  Company,  holding  their  land  on  the 
Company's  authority,  assembled  at  night  and  destroyed 
my  property,  and  killed  several  of  my  servants.  It  may 
be  seen  by  the  following  letter  to  Capt.  David  Reed,  of 
the  Bengal  Artillery,  that  I  had  a  very  narrow  escape. 

The  following  is  an  article  from  the  Calcutta  Star  : 

"  We  had  indulged  a  hope  that  the  Singphoos  were 
sufficiently  convinced  of  our  military  strength  at  Ningrew 


88  RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING. 

and  Rungagora  Stockades,  supportal  by  the  stations  of 
the  Dibroo  Ghur  and  Jaipoor,  to  warrant  the  supposition 
of  their  never  again  resorting  to  their  former  predatory 
habits  ;  but  we  are  grieved  to  find  another  instance  on 
record  which  proves  we  were  over  sanguine.  Two  of 
their  most  formidable  chiefs,  the  Beesa  Gam  and  Nin- 
grew  Lah,  met  with  summary  punishment,  only  last  year, 
from  the  political  authorities,  on  being  detected  in  the 
perpetration  of  crime  under  aggravated  circumstances, 
and  promoting  dissension  amongst  those  tribes  of  the 
Singphoo  favorable  to  British  rule.  Whether  their  period 
of  confinement  has  terminated,  or  whether  from  lenient 
motives  the  political  authorities  have  relieved  them  from 
that  confinement,  we  have  not  heard ;  but  it  appears 
strange  that  a  circumstance  of  the  nature  now  alluded 
to,  should  have  again  transpired  at  a  place  semi-distant 
from  the  Stockades  of  Ningrew  and  Rungagora,  about  15 
miles  each  way — and,  if  we  mistake  not,  an  actual  stock 
ade  itself,  Koojoo — where,  we  know,  some  few  months 
back,  troops  were  stationed,  as  a  piquet,  close  to  the  tea 
plantation  of  Mr.  Bonynge.  This  gentleman,  supported 
by  a  respectable  agency  house  here,  suffered  similarly 
about  the  middle  of  his  crops  in  1844,  fortunately  for  him 
without  personal  injury — in  anticipation  of  an  attack, 
perhaps,  he  having  but  just  commenced  a  march  into 
Rungagora  when  the  Singphoos  arrived.  The  whole  of 
his  property  was  destroyed,  including  a  very  elegant 
library  ;  and  we  have  been  put  in  the  possession  of  the 
manner  in  which  everything  was  disposed  of,  as  witnessed 
by  a  hidden  spectator.  Balls  of  opium,  farm  yard 
stock,  vessels  of  different  kinds,  were  forthwith  despatched 


RETIREMENT  FROM  PLANTING.'  89 

to  their  villages  as  booty  of  the  first  order.  A  cask  of 
rum  regaled  the  invaders  (and  wines  and  beers  not  being 
appreciated,  the  bottles  were  emptied),  and  the  chairs 
were  duly  appropriated  to  the  purposes  for  which  they 
were  intended.  Contentment  soon  turned  into  mischief, 
such  as  cutting  up  books  with  their  dahs  (swords  about 
32  to  4  inches  broad  at  the  top,  and  tapering  gradually 
to  the  handle,  and  about  26  inches  long),  and  relieved 
tables  and  other  furniture  of  their  legs.  Mischief 
-quickly  ripened  into  quarrels  amongst  themselves — some 
fighting,  some  stealing,  and  others  committing  every  de 
scription  of  violence  inside  the  burgalow  (house),  whilst 
those  without  were  busy  firing  the  whole.  To  a  suit  of 
clothes,  everything  had  disappeared.  On  that  occasion 
no  produce  was  lost,  Mr.  Bonynge  having  cautiously, 
crop  by  crop,  despatched  it  to  a  Government  factory  for 
final  preparation  ;  but  this  season  we  are  led  to  believe 
that  all  has  been  sacrificed — 400  monds  (32,000  Ibs.) 
Still,  whatever  the  loss  may  be,  we  hold  that  after  former 
warnings,  and  promises  of  good  behavior  to  the  Govern 
ment,  Mr.  Bonynge  will  have  a  claim,  inasmuch  as  he 
placed  implicit  faith  on  the  mutual  good  understanding, 
and  the  tacit  promise  of  protection  both  to  life  and  pro 
perty.  Summary  punishment  must  be  inflicted  on  these 
races — by  nature  robbers  and  murderers — ere  they  can 
fully  appreciate  the  British  character.  Lenient  and 
undecisive  measures  will  not  only  encourage  these  attacks, 
but  strengthen  the  belief,  where  it  exists,  of  our  arm 
being  but  a  feeble  one." 

Last  year,  their  villages  were  fired,  their  crops  des 
troyed,  and  threats  of  utter  annihilation  proclaimed ; 
those  proximate  to  the  nearest  military  station  (Jaipoor) 


90  RETIREMENT    FROM   PLANTING. 


sought  protection  around  it.  VSHiole  villages  swarmed 
in,  and  settled  on  the  Boore  Dihing  river,  forming  New 
Juggoon,  Kujoo  and  Ningrew  villages  on  unemployed 
lands  ;  but  the  younger  chiefs,  indignant  at  the  punish 
ment  of  those  more  powerful,  the  Company  Sahib  Log 
(so  the  natives  of  India  call  the  British  East  India  Com 
pany),  the  desertion  of  their  principal  villages,  and  con 
sequent  want  of  laborers  for  tillage,  will,  in  all  proba 
bility,  go  on  pursuing  harassing  midnight  attacks,  until 
a  check  is  effectually  put  in  force  ;  and,  for  the  safety  of 
the  traders,  both  Assamees  or  more  enterprising  for 
eigners,  we  would  recommend,  that  when  a  possibility  of 
a  capture  occurs,  one  and  all  of  them  should  be  removed, 
either  to  some  spot  on  the  Burampootre  or  elsewhere  in 
our  own  possessions,  as  were  the  Gohains  (princes)  on 
the  surrender  of  the  Muttuk  country. 

The  escape  from  death  appears  to  have  been  miracu 
lous  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for  Mr.  Bonynge  that  he 
commanded  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  lay  hold  of  the 
choppah  bamboo  (roof)  while  the  Singphoos  passed  under 
him  ;  equally  fortunate  was  it  that  the  absence  of  light 
precluded  too  minute  a  search  ;  for,  being  a  cripple  at  the 
time,  and  overpowered  by  numbers,  he  would  have,  had 
lie  been  traced,  undoubtedly  fallen  a  victim. 

We  subjoin  particulars  of  the  attack  from  yesterday's 
"  Hurkaru  newspaper  :" 

*     *     *     *     gut  now  for  tjie  escape  ^vhich,  without 

cant,  I  must  credit  Providence  for.  It  was  most  miracu 
lous.  In  the  first  place,  I  went  to  bed  without  loading 
my  guns.  A  while  after,  a  Singphoo  teklah  (pike  bearer) 
commenced  singing;  he  did  the  same  the  night  of  the 
robbery  of  the  529  rupees.  I  was  so  forcibly  struck 


RETIREMENT   FROM    PLANTING.  91 

with  the  supposition  that  something  of  the  like  nature 
was  then  exciting  him,  that  I  got  up,  called  for  a  light, 
charged  my  gun  with  three  pistol  balls  in  each  barrel, 
with  shot  to  fill  up  the  crevices,  and  drew  the  blind  from 
over  the  door,  so  as  to  enable  me  to  see  out.  I  went  to 
bed,  fell  asleep,  and  awoke  about  two  o'clock.  I  turned 
round,  looked  to  the  door,  and  saw  the  Singphoos  mounting 
the  verandah  (raised  piazza)  with  a  cat-like  pace.  I 
started  out  of  bed,  and  cried  out  "  Singphoos,"  when 
they  cut  down  the  teklahs  (two  men  on  watch,  but  who 
had  gone  to  sleep).  I  then  gave  them  a  barrel ;  the 
room  was  small,  and  there  were  immediately  about  fifteen 
men  cutting  away  at  my  bed,  when  I  discharged  the 
second  barrel  among  them.  I  thought  to  reserve  the 
second  and  work  away  with  a  dah,  but,  on  laying  hold  of 
the  blade,  it  was  whipped  out  of  my  hand,  giving  me  a 
slight  scratch,  the  only  one,  except  a  slight  spear  wound 
in  my  knee,  that  I  received ;  finding  this  loss,  I  was 
obliged  to  discharge  the  second  barrel,  when  the  whole 
gang  rushed  out  of  the  room,  leaving  a  man  struggling 
on  the  bed,  evidently  in  the  last  gasp.  I  did  not  lay  my 
hands  upon  him,  nor  did  I  feel  any  relish  to  do  so.  I  was 
about  to  charge  my  gun  while  alone,  but  on  looking 
through  the  wall,  saw  so  many  Singphoos,  and  they  ac 
tively  engaged  looking  for  a  light,  that  I  thought  it  best 
to  escape ;  so  I  threw  down  my  gun,  and  got  over  the 
mat  wall,  and  clung  to  the  roof  until  the  Singphoos 
passed  under  me,  when  I  got  down  beneath  the  "  chang" 
(floor  raised  on  posts)  with  the  pigs.  I  knew  that  was  no 
resting  place  for  me,  so  I  crept  out  on  my  hands  and  feet 
until  I  got  the  bathing-house  between  me  and  them,  when 
I  made  the  best  use  of  my  heels.  I  had  been  a  cripple 


92  RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING. 

for  the  five  days  before ;  however,  I  had  no  time  to  think 
of  bad  legs,  and  ran  well  until  overtaken  with  cramps. 
The  feeling  I  had  during  the  attack  was,  that  the  mo 
ment  was  to  be  my  last,  and  I  felt  a  savage  determina 
tion  to  make  the  most  of  it.  When  a  little  way  from 
the  house  I  got  a  cramp  and  rolled  over.  On  rising  up 
again,  I  saw  two  men  quite  close.  I  knew  I  could  not 
get  away,  so  I  drew  myself  up  against  the  matted  brush 
wood,  and  darted  on  the  first,  who  fell  in  a  lump  under 
me.  I  had  his  dah  (sword)  half  drawn  ready  to  strike 
him,  when  the  second  came  up  and  cried,  "  Chaprasee, 
sahib !"  They  turned  out  to  be  my  own  teklah  and 
Captain  Butler's  chaprasee  (chaprasee,  a  police  court  mes 
senger,  and  teklah,  a  pike  bearer),  and  my  meeting  them 
saved  me  from  a  jungle  death  ;  for  the  road  or  pathway 
(made  by  wild  elephants  through  the  underwood)  was  so 
full  of  water  I  never  could  have  found  my  way  to  "  Nin- 
grew."  It  was  as  dark  as  it  could  be,  and  pouring  rain 
in  torrents.  All  is  burned  down ;  my  pony  is  at  Nin- 
grew  ;  he  broke  loose  and  would  not  allow  the  rascals  to 
lay  hands  on  him.  The  only  thing  I  brought  away  was 
the  night-shirt  on  my  back. 

I  should  say  several  Singphoos  were  wounded  ;  but  no 
person  knows  anything,  all  my  servants  having  run  away 
when  they  heard  the  gun. 

One  of  the  two  men  who  I  so  fortunately  met  with,  I 
started  off  to  the  nearest  military  post  to  call  out  the 
military,  the  other,  I  kept  with  me:  from  frequent  at 
tacks  of  the  cramp,  and  my  naked  feet  being  full  of 
thorns  from  the  cane  briars,  and  the  painful  state  of  my 
legs,  I  was  obliged  to  sit  down  in  the  forest.  I  made  the 
servant  sit  down,  much  against  his  will,  with  his  back  to 


RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING.  93 

mine,  and  tied  him  to  me  with  'his  sheet,  and  placed  his 
sword  between  my  knees  ;  in  that  position  we  fell  asleep  ; 
awoke  by  day- break.  The  night  was  grand  in  the  ex 
treme,  it  poured  rain  in  torrents ;  and  every  now  and 
again  the  dazzling  flash  of  lightning  would  pierce 
through  the  darkness  of  the  forest;  a  tree  would  be 
upset, — its  crash,  and  the  breaking  of  branches  of  other 
trees,  sent  their  echoes  through  all  parts  of  the  forest, 
setting  the  orangs  and  monkies  to  cry  out,  in  the  pecu 
liar  voice  of  the  former,  and  the  chattering  of  the  latter  ; 
the  trumpeting  of  the  wild  elephants,  and  again  the 
piercing  shriek  or  bark  of  the  hog-deer,  as  she  was 
startled  by  the  noise,  or  surprised  by  the  tiger,  gave  so 
much  life  to  the  wild  desert,  and  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  that  the  fear  of  the  pursuing  Tartars,  the  recol 
lection  of  the  loss  of  everything  I  possessed,  gave  way  to 
admiration  of  the  war  of  the  elements,  and  the  confusion 
of  the  wild  inhabitants  of  the  woods, — and  fatigue  soon 
closed  my  eyes  in  rest. 

The  following  morning  a  jemedar  and  his  company, 
(a  native  officer  with  forty  men,)  started  for  Koojoo,  but, 
as  I  could  not  keep  on  the  pathway,  I  missed  them.  The 
Tartars  were  in  pursuit,  but  being  under  the  influence 
of  rum  and  opium,  kept  talking,  which  gave  me  and  my 
servant  an  opportunity  to  avoid  them.  We  arrived  safe, 
late  next  evening,  at  the  military  post  of  Ningrew.  When 
I  got  in  sight  of  it,  through  the  reaction  of  the  mind,  the 
painful  state  of  my  legs,  and  the  great  loss  of  blood  from 
leeches,  my  strength  gave  way,  and  the  servant,  by 
hoisting  his  sheet  on  a  branch  of  a  tree,  signalized  the 
guard,  who  sent  out  some  of  the  soldiers  to  carry  me  in. 
Such  was  the  unfortunate  occurrence  that  ended  rnv  tea 


94  BETIREMEXT   FROM   PLANTING. 

cultivation.  Some  of  my  people  were  murdered,  and 
several  wounded.  See  following. extract  from  Dr.  Sher 
lock^,  assistant  surgeon,  East  India  Company. 

"  The  Coolies  (laborers,)  who  have  come  in  wounded 
from  Ningrew,  are  in  great  danger  of  their  lives.  The 
individual  who  has  submitted  to  have  his  arm  amputated, 
will  probably  recover  ;  the  other  refuses  to  submit  to  an 
operation,  and  will  certainly  not  live  many  days." 

The  following  are  letters  of  gentlemen,  on  that  attack. 
From  Col.  Francis  Jenkins,  Gowhattee,  Governor  of  the 
North  East  Provinces  : 

"  The  misfortune  that  befell  you,  it  was  not  in  the 
power  of  the  local  officers  to  prevent  or  remedy. 

u  I  never  ceased  to  regret  the  circumstances  which 
caused  you  to  retire  from  manufacturing,  as  it  always 
appeared  to  me  that  of  all  persons  who  have  embarked 
in  those  speculations,  you  were  the  most  likely  to  suc 
ceed,  and  to  do  justice  to  our  indigenous  tea,  and  our 
capabilities  of  raising  China  teas,  by  your  unremitting 
activity,  and  the  ability  you  evidently  had  evinced.  * 

"  I  can  assure  you  I  shall  welcome  your  return  to 
Assam  cordially,  for  I  know  of  no  one  more  likely  to 
turn  our  resources  to  account." 

GOWHATTEE,  January,  1849. 

Major  John  Bracken,  Assistant  Adjutant  General, 
wrote : 

"  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Bonynge  in  Assam, 
and  whose  unmerited  sufferings  while  there,  and  the 
energy  with  which  he  bore  up  with  them,  engaged  my 
pity  and  esteem." 


RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING.  95 

Dr.  William  B.  O'Shougnessy,  Assay  Master  of  the 
Calcutta  Mint,  wrote  : 

"  I  most  strongly  support  everything  Major  Bracken 
writes.  Mr.  Bonynge  is  a  most  deserving  man,  and  if 
you  can  help  him,  you  could  not  aid  one  more  worthy 
of  it." 

G.  Fo  Edmonstone,  Esq.,  Governor  Cis  Sutledge 
Territories,  wrote,  in  complying  with  a  request  of  mine  : 

"I  do  so  the  more  readily,  knowing  you  are  an  honora 
ble  man,  and  the  victim  of  official  displeasure." 

Dr.  George  Lamb,  Physician  General  of  India,  wrote  : 
"  Government  owes  you  something  for  your  losses  in 
the  Singphoo  country,  where  you  were  sacrificed." 

The  following  letter  is  from  a  merchant  of  Liverpool, 
Mr.  Daniel  Willis,  to  Edmond  Molyneux,  Esq.,  British 
Consul,  Savannah : — 
DEAR  SIR, 

The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  present  to  you  the  bearer, 
Mr.  Frank  Bonynge,  a  young  gentleman  for  whom  I  feel 
a  peculiar  interest,  and  in  whose  behalf  I  am  proposing 
to  solicit  your  friendly  attention.  My  acquaintance  with 
this  gentleman  has  not  been  of  long  standing,  and  I  there 
fore  consider  it  right  to  give  you  a  brief  outline  of  his 
history,  and  the  object  of  his  present  journey  to  America, 
in  the  pursuit  of  which  he  may,  probably,  have  to  ask 
your  advice. 

Mr.  Bonynge  went  out  to  India  some  years  ago,  and 
after  spending  some  time  in  the  manufacturing  of  indigo, 
proceeded  to  Assam,  under  the  recommendation  of  the 
East  India  Company's  authorities  in  that  quarter,  to 


96  RETIREMENT   FROM   PLANTING. 

cultivate  the  tea  plant.  In  this  scheme  he  was  engaged 
some  years,  with  a  prospect  of  considerable  ultimate  suc 
cess,  under,  I  believe,  the  advice  of  my  brother  (now  a 
resident  in  Calcutta  for  upwards  of  thirty  years),  until  a 
rebellion  broke  out  among  the  natives,  which  was  attended 
with  the  loss  of  all  his  property  embarked,  because  the 
East  India  Company  have  refused  to  replace  their  autho 
rity  over  that  district,  or  even  to  give  Mr.  Bonynge  com 
pensation. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Bonynge,  with  a  view 
to  introduce  the  cultivation  of  the  tea  plant  into  America, 
and  under  advice  and  letter  from  the  American  Minister, 
Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence,  with  whom  he  has  been  some  time 
in  correspondence,  has  undertaken  to  visit  your  Southern 
States ;  and,  in  the  event  of  that  failing  to  prove  success 
ful,  I  have  suggested  to  Mr.  Bonynge  to  employ  his  time 
in  America  in  the  acquirement  of  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
culture  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  and  their  entire  manage 
ment.  With  the  view  of  promoting  this  object,  I  have 
therefore  to  request  you  will  kindly  afford  to  him  any 
advice  which  it  may  be  in  your  power  to  give,  should  he 
request  it ;  also,  to  supply  him  with  letters  to  any  parties 
who  you  think  may  be  able  to  promote  his  objects,  arid 
disposed  to  advise  him  as  to  the  best  mode  of  doing  so. 

Any  assistance  which,  in  this  way,  you  may  render  will 
be  gratefully  felt  by  the  bearer,  who,  although  unfortu 
nate  and  ill-used  in  his  career,  is,  I  have  every  reason  to 
believe,  a  most  deserving  person ;  and,  in  consideration, 
I  need  hardly  assure  you,  that  it  will  ever  afford  me 
sincere  pleasure  to  reciprocate  your  good  offices  in  this 

quarter. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  very  truly  yours. 

DANIEL   WILLIS. 


ASSAM — THE  SHANS — THE   FAKE-ALLS.  97 

KINDS  OF  TEA  PLANTS  IN  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES. 

All  are  aware  that  China  alone  supplies  the  world-wide 
with  the  little  tea  that  wide  world  uses.  But  before 
entering  into  the  nature  of  the  China  plant,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  cast  a  look  to  those  localities  out  of  China 
where  the  tea  plant  may  have,  by  some  agency  or  other, 
made  its  way. 

In  Assam,  the  plant  has  been  found  indigenous  ;  some 
say  it  has  been  carried  there  by  those  rivers  running  from 
China,  such  as  the  Boree  Dihing ;  others  suppose  that 
man  has  introduced  it,  in  his  westward  course.  It  is  not 
very  material  to  the  purpose  to  inquire  into  the  matter ; 
but  if  it  be  of  any  interest  to  Americans  to  know  how  the 
tea  plant  extended  from  the  west  of  China  to  the  east  of 
the  Burampooter — an  extent  of  territory  that  lies  directly 
under  our  feet — I  can  do  no  more  to  help  them  to  that 
knowledge  than  to  oifer  suppositions.  That  the  Singphoos 
must  originally  have  come  from  Japan  is  but  certain. 
There  are  another  people  called  the  Shans ;  arid  also 
another  called  the  Fake-alls.  The  Shans  and  Fake-alls 
are  the  same,  I  believe  ;  all  came  from  the  east,  and  all 
use  tea  in  every  possible  manner.  They  put  the  leaf  in 
their  paun*  and  chew  it ;  they  boil  the  green  leaf  and 
drink  the  infusion ;  they  beat  the  green  leaf  hard  into  a 
bamboo,  and  keep  it  there  without  any  drying  at  all,  and 
use  it  as  required ;  they  make  extracts  of  the  leaf,  and 
keep  it  in  leaves,  or  bamboos,  or  cups,  in  a  thick  consist 
ency,  in  color  and  appearance  like  pitch.  All  easterns 

*  Paun  is  made  of  the  betel  leaf,  with  nutmeg,  cloves  and  pepper, 
and  lime  made  from  shells. 

5 


98  CULTIVATION   IN   ASSAM. 

drink  their  tea  without  milk  or  sugar.  Whether  these 
people  carried  the  tea  seeds  froua  Japan  into  China  at  a 
remote  period,  or  found  it  in  China,  and  carried  it  with 
them  in  their  progress  westward,  is  hard  to  say.  Gibbon 
mentions  the  Shans  and  their  eruptions,  in  his  history, 
to  the  westward.  The  appearance  of  the  tea  plants  in 
the  different  localities  west  of  China  would  impress  the 
belief,  that  it  has  been  always  indigenous  there,  being 
found  in  the  deepest  forests,  where  man  could  not  have  re 
sided  for  centuries  past.  Therefore,  if  it  was  man,  man's 
profligacy  has  exterminated  him,  and  Providence  has  pre 
served  the  plant.  Again,  if  it  was  conveyed  by  water, 
and  squirrels  and  birds  helped  to  convey  it  miles  from 
that  water,  and  to  places  some  three  hundred  feet  above 
the  reach  of  water,  it  must  have  taken  an  immense 
time,  for  large  districts  of  country  frequently  divide  one 
tea  locality  from  another.  Assam  country  is  marked  on 
the  later  maps  of  the  world  very  irregularly.  The  Sing- 
phoo  and  Camptee  countries,  or  Naga  country,  find  no 
place  on  them.  In  the  Singphoo  and  Naga  countries  the 
best  tea  is  found.  Down  lower,  i.  e.,  to  the  westward, 
in  the  valley  of  Assam,  the  plant  is  inferior ;  the  leaf  is 
coarse,  the  tree  stunted,  and  never  reaches  one-third 
the  size  it  does  in  the  abovenamed  countries.  The  East 
India  Company  cultivated  a  baree  (so  called  in  Assam), 
or  plantation,  called  "  Chubwah,''  in  the  valley  of  As 
sam  ;  the  produce  was  good,  being  320  Ibs.  the  average 
per  acre,  but  the  leaf  had  an  unpleasant,  oily  flavor  about 
it.  The  company  has  given  it  up.  -All  the  tea  plants 
along  the  Tingri  river  were  inferior,  and  poor  sterile 
plants ;  and  the  teas  the  Assam  Company  produced  are  of 
very  little  superiority  to  the  present  teas  of  commerce. 


ESTABLISHMENT  AT   KAMOUN   MOUNTAINS.         99 

which  are  far  inferior  to  what  they  had  been.  My  Sing- 
phoo  teas  were  far,  very  far,  superior  to  my  Assam  teas. 
In  Assam  I  had  four  plantations.  The  first  crops  of 
leaves  were  passable,  but  the  others  felt  like  chaff  in  the 
hand,  and  would  not  of  themselves  fetch  a  very  fair 
price.  In  the  Singphoo  and  Naga  countries  it  is  quite 
different ;  the  tea  is  of  the  highest  possible  flavor,  requiring 
but  one-half  the  usual  quantity  of  leaves  for  infusion. 

The  British  East  India  Company  introduced  China 
seeds ;  though  they  had  greater  facilities  for  doing  so 
than  any  other  government,  yet  the  seeds  they  got 
from  China  were  worse  than  valueless,  for  they  all  ger 
minated,  and  grew  up  into  a  pretty  little  bush  of  two  to 
three  feet  high,  full  of  leaves,  and  no  end  to  their  powers 
of  producing  seeds.  But  the  leaves  were  small,  dry, 
hard,  and  so  stiff  that  they  could  not  be  manufactured. 
From  several  thousands  I  had,  I  never  made  a  pound  of 
tea.  The  Assam  Company  tried  every  scheme  ;  even 
plucked  off  all  the  leaves,  supposing,  when  the  new  ones 
came  out,  they  would  be  soft,  but  they  came  out  so 
slowly,  and  still  so  dry  and  poor,  that  the  experiment 
proved  a,  failure. 

In  Kamoun  mountains,  north-west  of  East  India,  the 
British  East  India  Government  established  a  garden  in 
1885,  under  Dr.  Jamieson.  Up  to  1850,  they  have  ex 
ported  no  teas.  They  made  some  from  some  Assam 
plants,  and  sold  them  to  the  natives  of  the  place.  They 
have  frequently  endeavored  to  sell  their  plantations,  but 
no  one  would  buy  them.  These  are  the  plantations  Dr. 
Royle  lauds  so  much. 

There  is  another  party  recently  entered  into  cultiva 
tion  in  the  same  district,  and  who  offered,  or  rather  a 


100  MR.    J  UNI  US  SMITH. 

friend,  Mr.  Prideaux,  offered  for  him,  to  place  the  con 
cern  under  me.  I  declined,  feeling  that  there  could 
he  no  success.  Since  then,  I  see  from  the  news 
papers,  that  Mr.  Fortune  has  been  to  China  for  seeds, 
and  brought  round  some  1,700  in  a  budding  state.  I 
wish  him  success  of  a  dry  climate  and  China  seeds. 

The  Washington  Government  has  commissioned  their 
men-of-war  to  bring  home  tea  seeds  from  China ;  hence 
the  necessity  of  this  article  on  the  qualities  of  the  tea 
plant.  Government  will,  of  course,  distribute  the  seeds 
to  all  parties ;  they  will  sow  them ;  they  may,  or  may 
not,  germinate.  If  they  do  not,  so  much  the  better;  be 
cause  further  expense  and  labor  will  be  saved.  If  they 
do  germinate  and  grow  up,  years  and  years  will  roll  on, 
and  the  little  tree  will  grow  up  to  three,  possibly  to  four, 
feet  in  height,  bloom,  and  produce  seed.  The  seed  will 
be  carefully  saved  and  sown,  and  so  the  country  may 
become  extensively  provided  with  tea  bushes,  and  will 
not  be  one  pound  of  tea  the  better.  As  far  as  I  can 
learn  of  the  cultivation  now  being  carried  on  by  Mr. 
Junius  Smith,  LL.D.,  from  his  own  letter,  and  other 
people's  accounts,  he  has  unfortunately  fell  into  the 
evil  against  which  I  would  caution  all.  For  Mr. 
Smith's  part  in  tea  affairs,  I  am  not  surprised  at  the 
little  advance  he  has  made.  Unacquainted  with  the 
cultivation,  picking  up  his  knowledge  from  magazines  ; 
and  by  compilations  from  them  making  up  a  pamphlet, 
he  reasoned  himself  into  the  belief  that  all  was  fair 
and  square  before  him;  and  with  a  spirit  of  enthu 
siasm  and  enterprise,  he  resigned  his  long-loved  smokes 
of  London,  and  the  thin  and  highly-polished  pumps 
of  the  citizen,  for  the  great  thick  brogans  of  a  clod- 


MK.   JUNIUS  SMITH — JAVA.  101 

hopper,  and  transported  himself  into  the  wilds  of  Gren- 
ville,  there  to  ruralize  and  plant  tea.  Such  ardor  was 
highly  deserving  of  success.  His  prospect,  I  fear,  is 
the  poorest.  Mr.  Smith  is  now  going  on  four  years 
in  America ;  and  from  his  letter  may  be  collected  his 
failure.  His  letter  is  dated  4th  July,  '51,  directed  to 
the  editors  of  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  and  in  which 
he  wrote : — 

"  On  that  day,  (4th  July,)  I  plucked  from  several  of 
my  green  tea  plants,  a  small  quantity  of  tea  leaves. 
The  small  number  of  my  plants,  and  the  partial  growth 
of  the  leaves,  forbade  my  attempting  to  gather  beyond  a 
sufficiency  for  experiment,  but  enough  I  apprehend  to 
confirm  and  establish  the  important  fact,  that  the  tea 
plant  of  China  is  congenial  to  our  climate  ;  that  the  tea 
is  pure  American  growth,  unmixed  with  any  herb  or 
material  ;  that  it  is  cured  by  solar  heat  alone,  and  is  in 
every  respect  the  genuine  tea  of  China  tea  plants.  Its 
fragrance,  flavor,  and  physical  qualities,  may  undoubtedly 
be  changed  by  the  process  of  manipulation  and  manufac 
ture."  There  arc  two  things  1  would  advise  Mr.  Smith 
to  do,  viz  :  If  his  mode  of  manipulation  and  manufacture 
has  undoubtedly  changed  the  fragrance,  flavor,  and  phys 
ical  qualities  of  his  teas,  to  give  up  manipulating  and 
manufacturing,  for  if  the  physical  qualities  and  fragrance 
and  flavor  be  changed,  what  other  property  of  tea  re 
mains  to  be  changed,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know.  And 
secondly,  if  after  the  time  he  has  spent  he  finds  his  tea 
plants  few  in  number,  and  his  tea  leaves  of  a  partial 
growth  only,  to  get  rid  of  his  plants  also. 

JAVA. — It  was  impossible  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
tea  plant  to  succeed  under  the  unfavorable  patronage  of 


102  DIFFICULTY   OF   GETTING   GOOD  SEEDS. 

royalty ;  no  planter,  except  on  a  most  extensive  scale, 
could  sell  his  teas  for  5  cents  per  Ib.  I  have  never  been 
able  to  ascertain  if  other  causes  operated  against  its  suc 
cess  in  that  Dutch  possession. 

DIFFICULTY  OF  GETTING  GOOD  SEEDS  FROM  CHINA. 

I  WILL  now  add  the  evidence  of  others,  who  it  will  be 
seen  have  had  long  experience  in  China,  to  show  the 
difficulty  of  getting  good  tea  seeds  from  that  country. 
One  of  them,  Rev.  Mr.  Gutzlaff,  is  known  all  over  the 
civilized  world  by  his  works,  and  the  other,  Mr.  Ball,  was 
a  tea  merchant  and  tea  taster,  to  the  honorable  East 
India  Company,  and  for  twenty  years  a  resident  at 
Canton,  and  whose  word  is  of  all  others  the  most  worthy 
of  confidence. 

Mr.  Ball  states  that  a  It  has  been  observed  that  the 
Chinese  universally  agree  from  remote  antiquity  to  the 
present,  that  only  the  Bohea  mountains  produce  the  highest 
flavored  teas  ;  they  moreover  affirm  that  it  is  only  in  the 
central  division  of  these  mountains,  which  are  known  to 
the  Chinese  by  the  appellation  of  Vuy-Shan,  (inner 
mountains,)  where  the  highest  flavored  teas  are  produced, 
and  that  the  tea  deteriorates  in  quality,  till  in  some  of 
the  remote  districts,  the  leaves  are  thin  and  poor,  and  of 
no  fragrance  or  sweetness  in  infusion  ;  that  no  labor  can 
make  them  good," — and,  that  "  The  Ankoy  teas,  grown 
in  the  vicinity  of  Amoy,  are  for  the  most  part  inferior  ; 
and  the  Honan  and  Waping  teas  of  Quang-Tong,  (Can 
ton,)  may  be  given  as  examples  of  still  greater  inferiority. 
And  again,  says  the  samd  author,  "  the  vast  inferiority 
of  the  flavor  of  Twankay  tea,  the  product  of  the  green 


DIFFICULTY   OF   GETTING   GOOD   SEED.  103 

tea  hills,  with  little  or  no  attention  paid  to  its  culture,  to 
that  of  the  Hyson  tea,  the  product  of  the  highly  cul 
tivated  plains,  would  be  apparent,  and  interesting  to  any 
one  disposed  to  try  the  experiment  at  the  average  prices." 
Also,  Ball  still  goes  on  to  say,  u  The  towns  which  ex 
tend  seventy  ly  (twenty-three  miles)  from  Vuy-Shang,  are 
called  Py-Keeng,  Tien-Cza-Zy,  Tang-Moa-Kown,  Nan- 
Nang,  &c.,  the  leaves  are  thin  and  small,  and  of  no  sub 
stance,  or  whether  green  or  black,  or  made  with  much 
care,  yet  have  no  fragrance^  Tea  is  also  produced  as 
far  as  Yen-Ping,  Shan-u,  Gen-Nong,  Kien-Yang,  Hew- 
Shang,  and  other  places,  but  unfit  for  use."  I  might 
still  go  on  further  with  Ball,  but  I  feel  the  reader  will 
be  satisfied.  Gutzlaff  says  "  The  extent  of  the  soil  that 
produces  the  best  Bohea,  is  no  more  than  forty  ly,"  but 
this  statement  is  wholly  incorrect.  And  in  another  place 
adds  :  "  In  all  other  parts  of  Fo  Keen  where  the  tea  plant 
is  in  a  similar  soil,  and  under  the  same  climate,  it  never 
thrives  so  well  as  there  (Bohea  Hill.)" 

It  is  seen  by  the  foregoing  that  there  is  no  good  seed 
to  be  had  at  Ankoy,  (Amoy)  or  at  Canton,  nor  at  Shang- 
haie  even ;  that  the  seeds  the  Chinese  would  give,  even  if 
they  had  good  ones  at  hand,  would  be  the  most  inferior ; 
but  the  good  seeds  are  not  at  hand  ;  and,  as  there  is  no 
means  of  knowing  the  seed  of  an  inferior  plant  from  the 
best,  money  would  not  procure  the  better  ones.  But  the 
jealousy  of  China  is  too  well  known,  to  suppose  she  would 
part  to  foreigners  the  means  of  shutting  up  one  of  her 
two  greatest  exports.  It  would  be  altogether  sanguine 
to  expect  it.  Her  export  of  tea  is  about  26,000,000 
to  30,000,000  of  dollars,  and  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  a 
nation  like  her  would  throw  away  that  export  ?  It  must 


104  CULTIVATION   IX   CHINA. 

be  remembered  by  all  who  have  read  the  history  of  the 
silk  worm,  that  it  was  conveyed  out  of  China  in  a  cane- 
stick  by  a  Jesuit. 

There  is  no  admittance  for  strangers  into  China  ;  a 
few  years  ago,  half  a  dozen  Englishmen  went  up  the  river 
from  Canton  in  a  boat,  and  went  on  shore.  They  were 
all  murdered.  Mr.  Fortune  states  in  his  book  that  he 
proceeded  as  far  inland  as  Soochoo,  but  Mr.  Martin 
states  that  he  failed  in  the  attempt ;  and  from  his  de 
scription  of  tea  making,  and  his  statement  that  the  tea 
plant  must  be  renewed  every  four  or  five  years,  there 
seems  to  be  internal  evidence  in  his  own  work,  that  he 
has  been  laboring  under  some  hallucination  on  the  subject. 

As  he  has  now  proceeded  to  Kamoun  to  plant  tea 
plants,  where  he  will  find  plants  now  in  bearing,  some  of 
them  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old,  and  which  will  bear 
for  several  years  to  come,  he  will  find  out  his  error. 

GEOGRAPHICAL   EXTENT    OF   CULTIVATION   OF   TEA   IN 
CHINA. 

Valleys,  and  table  lands,  and  round  the  bases,  and 
partially  up  the  sides  of  hills  or  mountains,  seem  to 
be  favorable  sites  for  tea  plantation.  To  ascertain  what 
is  going  on  in  the  interior  of  China  is  very  difficult,  the 
Jesuits  and  other  Catholic  Missionaries  alone  obtained 
ingress  into  China — and  except  their  attention  be  drawn 
to  the  particular  information  required,  they  deem  such 
matters  out  of  the  scope  of  their  calling.  Therefore,  it 
is  only  by  running  over  the  various  authors  who  have 
written  on  the  subject  that  information  can  be  obtained, 
and  then  it  requires  an  intimate  knowledge  with  the  tea 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF   CHINA.  105 

plant  itself,  to  be  able  to  sift  the  probabilities  from  the 
improbabilities ;  these  travelling  authors  write  at  such 
random,  as  if  their  sole  and  only  view  was  to  make  up 
a  book,  and  not  to  benefit  mankind. 

The  tea  plant  is  raised  on  the  Island  of  Chuzan  for 
domestic  use.  the  price  they  could  obtain  from  the  China 
tea  dealers  being  so  illiberal  as  not  to  pay  them  for  their 
labor,  which,  probably,  they  may  better  employ  in  fish 
ing,  &c.  Mr.  Bell,  who  visited  Pekin  with  the  English 
Embassy,  found  the  tea  plant,  kept  there  as  a  curiosity, 
and  about,  to  use  his  words,  "  as  big  as  a  currant  bush." 
Pekin  is  in  N.  latitude  40°.  In  N.  latitude  29°  the 
bush  has  to  be  covered  with  straw,  and  tied  up  with 
ropes,  to  protect  it  from  the  snow  and  frost ;  well,  all 
that  labor  would  make  the  tea  so  much  more  costly. 
And  as  the  mountains  are  continuous  northwards,  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  the  cold  of  winter  increases,  and  that 
the  tea  plant  could  not  be  at  all  productive  for  commercial 
purposes.  I  will  give  here  the  following  extracts  to  show 
the  face  of  China,  taken  from  McCullough's  Dictionary 
of  Geography  r 

"  The  mountains  and  hilly  districts  of  China  comprise 
about  one-half  of  its  area.  A  portion  of  the  Great 
Mountain  system  of  East  Asia  entering  this  country,  on 
the  N.  W.  and  S.  W.  frontiers,  subsides  previously  to  its 
termination  to  the  coast  into  low  hills ;  so  that,  tracing 
their  course  backwards  from  east  to  west,  they  gradually 
ascend  in  terraces  or  slopes,  and  give  to  the  south  and 
west  districts  a  mountainous,  and  to  the  east  division  a 
hilly  character.  Northwest,  at  about  34°  N.  latitude,  and 
102°  E.  longitude,  the  great  Pe-Ling  range,  which  has 
already  traversed  a  portion  of  Thibet  from  W.  to  E.,  is 


106  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  CHINA. 

joined  by  the  Yun-Ling  chain,  which,  entering  China  at 
about  31°  N.  latitude,  and  101°  JC.  longitude,  descends 
southwards  nearly  to  the  province  of  Yun-Nan.  These 
mountains,  from  the  easternmost  edge  of  the  high  table 
lands  of  E.  Asia,  are  snow-capped,  and  inaccessible  to 
the  natives,  being  actually  left  blank  on  the  Chinese 
maps." — DAVIS. 

Another  ridge  joining  the  Pe-Ling  at  the  same  point, 
takes  an  opposite  or  N.  N.  east  direction,  and  entering 
the  Empire  in  the  Province  of  Shen-Se,  reaches  nearly 
to  110°  E.  long.  Another  arm  of  the  Pe-Ling — the 
Ta-Paling  chain — intersects  the  country  from  west  to 
east,  to  about  115°  E.  long. ;  the  Pe-Ling  itself  con 
tinuing  in  its  former  course,  gives  out  various  branches 
which  traverse  the  central  provinces.  The  other  moun 
tain  chains  join  the  stupendous  Himalaya  ridges,  and 
enter  into  the  country  at  its  S.  west  in  the  Province  of 
Yun-Nan,  from  whose  high  table  lands  the  most  extensive 
Chinese  range  rises.  The  Yun-Lung,  the  most  southerly 
of  these  chains,  runs  nearly  east  into  the  Province  of 
Quang-Tong.  But  by  far  the  most  important  mountain 
chain  is  the  Nang-Ling,  which  branches  off  from  the 
northern  edge  of  the  Yun-Nang  highland,  runs  eastwards 
to  within  150  miles  of  Canton ;  it  then  inclines  N.  E.  to 
its  termination  to  the  harbor  of  Ning-Po,  having  given 
out  many  branches,  some  of  the  mountains  belonging  to 
which,  rise  above  the  snow  line. — MACARTNEY  EMBASSY. 
Most  of  the  mountains  here  mentioned  end  in  low  hills  in 
the  Eastern  Provinces,  which  consequently  comprise 
the  hilly  districts. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  extracts,  that  one-half 
of  the  area  of  China  is  covered  over  with  mountains. 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   CHINA.  107 

That  the  S.  west  portion  is  cut  off  by  the  great  Pe-Ling, 
which  enters  China  at  34°  N.  lat.,  and  the  Yun-Ling 
entering  in  at  31°  N.  lat.,  and  descending  southward 
to  the  Province  of  Yun  Nan ;  and  another  ridge  in  the 
opposite  direction,  N.  N.  east,  entering  Shen-Se.  The 
Ta-Paling  intersects  the  country  from  W.  to  east  to 
115°  East  long.,  and  the  Nang-Ling  runs  off  from  the 
north  to  150  miles  of  Canton,  and  then  inclines  N.  east 
to  the  30°  N.  lat.,  or  Nan-Po,  having  given  out  many 
branches,  some  of  the  mountains  belonging  to  which  rise 
above  the  snow  line. 

The  above  will  show,  that  if  in  29°  of  N.  lat.,  or  green 
tea  district,  so  much  care  has  to  be  taken  of  the  plant, 
that  upwards,  or  at  least  north  of  30°  N.  lat.,  owing  to 
the  great  altitude  as  well  as  the  increasing  cold  from  the 
natural  causes,  that  the  country  is  unfavorably  severe — 
and  hence  the  plant  becomes  a  green  house  curiosity  at 
Pekin,  40°  N.  lat.  Again  :  If  we  proceed  southward,  we 
find  that  the  Nang-Ling  starts  off  from  Ningpo  29°  30' 
N.  lat.  and  long.,  121°  30'  until  it  nears  Canton  by  150 
miles.  Canton  is  N.  lat.  23°,  and  long.  113°  25',  so 
that  we  are  cut  off  by  that  diagonal  range  reaching  above 
the  snow  line.  If  we  go  down  to  Amoy,  N.  lat.  24° , 
Ball  says  the  teas,  for  the  most  part,  are  inferior.  But 
the  price  current  will  show  them  to  be  almost  valueless. 
And  again,  the  Waping  and  Honan  teas  of  Quang-Tong, 
in  which  is  situated  Canton,  23°  N.  lat.,  "  may  be  given 
as  examples  of  still  greater  inferiority."  Below,  or  south 
of  the  27°  N.  lat.  there  is  no  good  tea  produced ;  and,  in 
fact,  N.  lat  28°  and  29°  and  part  of  30°,  may  be  put 
down  as  the  good  tea  districts.  Gutzlaff  says,  u  the 
extent  of  the  soil,  the  best  Bohea,  is  not  more  than  40  ly, 


108       EXTENT   OF   TEA   CULTIVATION   IX   CHINA. 

(13  miles)  in  circumference,"  but  that  must  be  a  random 
statement  of  the  reverend  gentleman,  because,  if  we  take 
his  other  statement  to  be  true,  which  I  believe,  and  have 
from  the  Chinese  themselves,  that  no  plantation  exceeds 
a  few  acres.  Therefore,  13  miles  in  circumference,  or 
say  4?  miles  in  diameter  of  that,  or  about  10  square 
miles  or  10,240  square  acres — at  the  rate  of  300  Ibs.  an 
acre,  would  only  produce  3,072,000  Ibs.  of  good  Bohea 
for  the  consumption  of  all  China  and  outside  Barbarians — 
whereas,  her  exports  alone  is  thirty  times  that,  and  I 
should  say  the  exports  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  her  own 
consumption — as  the  Chinese  will  pay  7-^  dollars  for  the 
best  tea.  However,  there  is  no  good  tea  produced  below 
27°  N.  lat.,  nor  is  there  any  exported  from  north  of  30° 
N.  lat.  And  we  see  these  latitudes  are  traversed  and 
retraversed  by  immense  mountains,  as  they  extend  to  the 
west  to  Thibet,  across  about  18°  of  longitude. 

It  is  well  known,  too,  that  no  tea  is  produced  near 
the  coast  in  these  latitudes,  and  that  all  teas  have  to  be 
carried  to  Shanghaie,  about  260  miles.  And  further 
more,  it  may  be  pointed  out,  that  there  are  many  districts 
in  these  four  degrees  of  latitude,  where  the  tea  grown  is 
of  no  fragrance  or  flavor. 

"  The  Chinese  say,"  writes  Ball,  "  that  the  tea  dete 
riorates  in  quality,  as  the  plantations  diverge  from  that  par 
ticular  (Bohea  Hills)  locality,  till  in  some  of  the  most  re 
mote  districts  the  leaves  are  thin  and  poor,  and  have  no 
fragrance  or  sweetness  in  infusion,  that  no  labor  can 
make  them  good." 

The  teas  of  the  neighborhood  of  Canton,  (Honan  and 
Waping),  Mr.  T.  A.  Gibbs,  in  his  evidence  before  the 
Parliamentary  Committee,  states,  is  such,  that  no  process 


EXTENT  OF  TEA   CULTIVATION  IN   CHINA.      109 

of  manufacture  would  render  it  suitable  for  the  British 
market. 

The  Thea  Virides,  (a  fancy  name  of  botanists),  says 
Mr.  Fortune,  in  writing  from  Chusan,  is  cultivated 
everywhere.  .  .  Every  small  farmer  or  cottager  has 
a  few  plants  on  his  premises,  which  he  rears  with  con 
siderable  care ;  .  .  and  although  the  shrub  grows 
pretty  well,  it  is  far  from  luxuriant,  as  it  is  in  the  large 
districts  on  the  main  land.  Chusan  is  N.  L.  30°. 

"  Every  province,"  says  Ball,  "  probably  produces 
much  of  its  own  teas  for  common  domestic  purposes, 
though  not  for  festive  or  ceremonial  purposes."  .  »  •/. 
u  The  Chinese  say  the  provinces  of  Py-chy-ly,  Shang- 
shy,  Shew-sy,  Shang-tong,  and  even  Honan,  are  unfa 
vorable  for  tea ;  and  in  the  official  returns,  there  is  no 
mention  made  of  any  plantations  in  Keang-nan." 

So  that  it  may  be  seen,  whether  the  exports  of  tea  be 
East  from  Shanghaie,  or  South  from  Canton,  or  N. 
West  by  caravans,  that  the  tea  is  supplied  from  28° 
29°  and  30°  of  N.  lat.  Thibet  ought  to  be,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  is,  a  more  favorable  country  for  tea  cultivation 
than  China. 


lltttlhraHntt  nf 


IT  will  be  almost  invariably  found,  in  taking  tea 
leaves  out  of  a  tea  pot,  that  there  can  rarely  be  found 
one  that  has  not  the  appearance  of  the  tea  leaf.  I  have 
seen  a  few  exceptions,  where  the  tea  had  an  unpleasant 
flavor  of  tar,  or  something  of  that  kind,  about  it,  in  which 
there  were  other  leaves  than  that  of  the  camelia  kind. 

However,  there  are  so  many  leaves  closely  resembling 
those  of  tea,  that  there  is  a  very  wide  scope  for  adulter 
ation,  without  resorting  to  the  clumsy  expedient  of 
mixing  leaves  of  every  tree  or  bush  that  might  be  at 
hand,  and  so  render  detection  an  easy  matter. 

"  The  teas  of  the  districts  of  Py-Kien.  Cza-Sy,  &c., 
&c.,  &c.,  the  leaves  are  thin  and  small,  and  of  no  sub 
stance,  and  whether  green  or  black,  or  made  with  great 
care,  yet  have  no  fragrance.  This,  however,  is  used  for 
congous.  Tea  is  also  produced  as  far  as  Yen-Ping, 
Shang-u,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  and  other  places,  but  is  unfit 
for  use ;  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  tea  fr«m  these 
places  are  constantly  mixed  with  low  congou,  and  that 
many  of  the  congous  technically  termed  "  faint,"  come 
from  these  places,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  accounts  re 
ceived  from  other  Chinese,  where  some  of  the  above 
places  are  enumerated  as  producing  tea  forming  a  part 
of  the  tea  exported  as  congous." — Ball. 


ADULTERATION   OF  TEA.  Ill 

Mr.  Fail-bridge  states  in  his  evidence  before  a  com 
mittee  of  the  British  Parliament,  "  that  the  better  kinds 
of  teas  have  degenerated."  And  Sir  J.  Francis  Davis, 
the  British  Minister  at  Canton,  says,  "  two  kinds  of 
bohea  are  brought  into  this  country  (England)  from 
China.  The  lowest  of  these  is  manufactured  on  the 
spot,  therefore  called  Canton  Bohea  ;  being  a  mixture  of 
refuse  congou  with  a  coarse  kind  called  waping,  the 
growth  of  the  provinces." 

(I  call  most  respectfully  the  attention  of  the  U.  S. 
Government  to  these  pages,  and  beg  them  to  reflect  on 
the  serious  injury  they  will  inflict  on  the  country  by  the 
dissemination  of  China  tea  seeds,  such  as  the  Chinese 
will  give).  "  Again,"  states  Sir  J.  F.  Davis,  a  the  con 
sumption  of  bohea  in  this  country  (England)  has  of  late 
years  increased  to  the  diminution  of  congou,  and  the 
standard  of  the  latter  has  been  generally  lowered." 

And  again  Sir  J.  F.  Davis  stated,  "  the  young  hyson, 
until  it  was  spoiled  by  the  large  demand  of  the  Ameri 
cans,  was  a  genuine  delicate  young  leaf,  called  in  the 
original  language  Yien-Tsien,  before  the  rains,  because 
gathered  in  the  early  spring.  As  it  could  not  be  fairly 
produced  in  any  large  quantities,  the  call  for  it  on  the 
part  of  the  Americans  was  answered  by  cutting  up  and 
sifting  other  green  tea  through  sieves  of  a  certain  size." 

All  the  old  leaves  are  of  a  reddish  color,  and  require 
some  coloring  matter  to  make  them  green  or  black.  All 
the  black  teas  are  classed  as  follows  : 

1st  quality,  Flowery  Pikoe ;  2d  of  that  quality  is  Pekoe. 

2  -  "  Pouchang. 

3  "  Souchang. 

4  "  Compoi. 


112  ADULTERATION   OF  TEA. 

5  ';  Congou. 

6  "  Bohea.  % 

These  may  have  different  names,  as  Yen-Pouchang, 
&c.,  from  places,  or  from  the  times  of  the  season  they 
are  made  in ;  for  both  soil  and  season  will  affect  their 
qualities  ;  and  would,  therefore,  render  it  necessary  for 
Pouchang  or  Souchang,  &c.,  to  have  different  significa 
tions,  to  denote  such,  differences.  The  bohea  is  a  very 
old  leaf,  and  the  substance  in  a  manner  is  dried  before 
the  leaf  is  collected  from  the  tree  ;  and,  in  fact,  what  is 
now  called  congous,  is  little  better.  These  reddish 
leaves  are  colored  black ;  sometimes  with  the  sap  of  a 
particular  tree,  and  sometimes  by  green  grass  burned, 
and  various  other  ways.  The  dealers  in  London  may, 
for  all  I  know,  use  Day  &  Martin's  shoe  blacking,  for 
their  black  teas  is  to  be  seen  in  the  windows,  of  a 
polished  black.  All  that  would  of  course  give  the 
tea  a  deep  color  when  poured  out ;  so  it  suits  the  eye  for 
sale,  and  it  suits  the  eye  in  drinking.*  I  do  wonder, 
however,  that  doctors  often  forbid  the  use  of  tea,  although 
they  must  know  that  the  unadulterated  is  anti-bilious, 
and  the  most  healthy  beverage  that  can  be  made  use  of. 
Milk  and  sugar  help  to  change  its  qualities.  It  is 
only  white  people  who  use  either.  In  fact  the  Chinese 
and  people  of  the  N.  East  of  India  consider  milk  an 
excrement,  and  will  not  use  it. 

*  "  I  visited  a  '  tea,  manufactory '  a  few  miles  north  of  Can 
ton,  where  about  600  men,  women  and  children  were  engaged  in 
converting  coarse  looking  refuse  leaves  into  several  soi  ts  of  green  tea." 
— Martin. 

4 


PIUCES  OBTAINED  BY  THE  CHINESE  PLANTEK.    113 


PRICES  OBTAINED    BY  THE  CHINESE    PLANTER. 

I  HAVE  stated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  that  between  the 
planter  and  the  purchaser  of  teas  for  America,  there 
were  a  great  many  who  derived  their  bread  by  selling  it 
from  one  to  another,  who  may  be  called  the  middle  men 
of  the  trade.  The  people  who  make  their  living  on  tea- 
trading  in  China  are  innumerable.  And  through  the 
agency  of  whom  the  price  of  tea  is  raised  to  20  cents  by 
the  time  it  reaches  Canton,  and  16  cents  at  Shanghaie, 
per  Ib.  average.* 

If  it  was  possible  for  an  u  outside  barbarian"  to  calcu 
late,  and  deduct  the  profits  per  Ib.  and  expense  of  inland 
carriage,  to  either  Canton  or  Shanghaie,  it  would  be  in 
reality  found  that  the  cultivator  was  very  poorly  paid. 

First,  there  is  the  rent  of  land,  calculated  by  Gutzlaff 
a  $1  50  per  acre.  There  is  the  interest  he  has  to  pay 
on  advances  to  him  (to  purchase  corn,  &c.,  which  his 
land  under  tea  might  have  produced  him,)  To  per  cent.f 
Then  say  a  poor  man  has  an  acre  of  tea,  and  that  it  pro 
duced  him  300  Ibs.,  and  that  he  realized  7  cents  per  Ib., 
he  would  only  have  21  dollars ;  that  would  be  a  poor 
means  of  support — especially  when  the  interest  of  money, 
government  revenue,  and  rent  of  land  were  paid  off. 

Now  the  Hong  laborers,  or  Coolies,  get  15  shillings 
sterling,  or  45  dollars  yearly,  and  their  diet  and  lodgings. 

The  shoe  makers,  according  to  Rev.  Mr.  Smith's  evi 
dence,  get  nearly  the  same  wages. 

The  tea  packers,  are  allowed  about  36  dollars  a  year, 
and  diet. 

*  Average  price  of  the  teas  exported  to  England, 
f  The  legal  interest  is  36  per  cent. 


114     PEICES  OBTAINED  BY  THE  CHINESE  PLANTER. 

So  the  Chinese  planter  would  not  be  paid  proportiona 
ls  I  y  to  that  value  of  labor.  « 

The  expense  of  carrying  tea  from  the  tea  district,  is  5 
to  6  cents  per  Ib.  Then  comes  government  duty,  10  per 
cent.,  say  2  cents  per  Ib.,  and  say  five  or  six  parties  who 
turned  it  over  from  one  to  the  other,  made  in  the  aggre 
gate  8  cents  per  Ib.,  for  if  any  one  will  observe  the  fragile 
make  of  a  tea  chest,  he  will  understand  that  in  passing 
over  hills,  and  loading,  and  unloading,  and  exposure,  that 
there  must  be  a  great  deal  damaged,  and  that  not  less 
than  probably  10  cents  would  cover  the  risks,  and  give 
so  many  parties  a  little  profit.  Therefore,  there  is  duty 
per  Ib.,  2  cents;  transit  expenses  per  Ib.,  5  cents;  to 
parties  trading,  say  8  cents  ;  or  15  cents  per  Ib.,  leaving 
the  cultivator  to  get  only  5  per  cent. 

Mr.  Fortune  says  of  the  tea  planters — "  They  may  be 
considered  in  the  same  light  as  our  vintners,  poor,  hard 
working  people,  gaining  just  so  much  as  is  requisite  for 
their  daily  subsistence.  The  cottages  amongst  the  hills 
are  simple  in  their  construction,  and  remind  one  of  what 
we  used  to  see  in  Scotland  in  former  years,  when  the  cow 
and  the  pig  lived  and  fed  in  the  same  house  with  the 
peasant." 

Gutzlaff  writes,  "  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  only  the 
poorest  lands  are  allotted  to  this  cultivation,  the  rich 
being  allotted  to  the  growth  of  rice  and  sweet  potatoes. 
The  answer  of  the  people,  when  questioned  on  the  sub 
ject,  has  always  been,  that  the  profits  were  more  un 
certain,  and  generally  less,  and  therefore  it  was  much 
better  to  make  a  sure  livelihood." 

Therefore  to  two  parties  injustice  is  done ;  to  the 
planter  and  the  consumer.  This  leaf  which  can  be  pro- 


PRESENT  AND.  FUTURE  CONSUMPTION  OF  TEA.  115 

duced  from  2  to  4  cents  per  lb.,  by  the  time  it  gets  to 
Canton  is  20  cents ;  and  by  the  time  the  consumer  gets 
it,  it  stands  him  on  an  average,  100  cents  per  lb.  adul 
terated,  old,  and  compared  with  the  China  tea  leaf,  used 
in  China  or  Russia,  valueless.  Such  is  the  imposition 
on  both  parties  by  the  number  of  middle  men  who  live  on 
the  planter  and  consumer. 

However,  I  believe  things  are  brought  to  that  pass  by 
the  ingenuity  of  traders  during  the  last  two  centuries, 
that  we  can  get  none  of  the  good  teas, — truly  and  really 
the  tea  generally  drank  at  Calcutta,  England,  and 
America,  is  not  good,  nor  has  hardly  I  may  say  any  re 
lationship  to  good  tea — that  the  good  teas  are  drank  by 
the  Chinese — that  they  are  sent  west  to  Thibet,  Nepaul, 
&c.,  and  Russia.  Ball  says  the  Yen-Pouchong  cost 
from  15  to  30  shillings,  or  §3  75  to  $7  50  per  lb.,  and 
the  price  of  tea  in  the  Bohea  district,  which  is  classed 
as  Pouchong  and  Souchong,  is  from  2s.  Id.  to  4s.  7d.,  or 
52  cents  to  $1  15  per  lb. 

The  China  cultivator  on  such  teas  may  be  remu 
nerated,  and  then  the  people  that  are  imposed  on,  are  the 
English  and  American  consumers,  who  have  to  pay  100 
cents  per  lb.  for  Chinese  refuse  teas,  and  tea  house 
sweepings,  mixed  up  with  worthless  leaves. 

PRESENT  EXTENT  OF  THE  USE  OF  TEA,  AND  THE  PRO 
BABLE  CONSUMPTION  IN  TIME  TO  COME. 

If  we  consider  China,  and  find  in  that  sole  tea  produc 
ing  country  367,000,000  of  inhabitants  ;  if  we  consider 
these  as  tea  drinkers,  and  contemplate  a  Chinaman  and      ; 
his  family  in  easy  circumstances,  all  about  him  particu- 


116  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  CONSUMPTION. 

larly  clean,  and  tastefully  arranged,  with  his  cheerful 
round  face  and  small  eyes  ;  looking  to  one  side  of  the 
apartment,  there  may  be  seen  a  little  tea  pot,  and  be 
side  it  a  tea  cup,  to  which  the  whole  family  have 
recourse  at  meals  (three  times  a  day),  in  common ; 
and  in  the  intermediate  time,  as  the  one  or  the  other 
may  be  thirsty  ;  or  as  a  neighbor  visits,  the  pot  is  again 
in  requisition.  Such  tea  drinkers  cannot  use,  at  the 
lowest  calculation,  less  than  20  Ibs.  of  tea  a  year  each  ; 
but  30  Ibs.  would  be  nearer  the  mark. 

Now  the  Chinese  who  has  not  tea  will  buy  tea ;  the 
woman  will  card,  spin,  and  weave  her  cotton  into  cloth, 
that  she  may  increase  its  value,  go  and  sell  it,  and  buy 
tea  for  the  price,  or  oftener  barter  it  for  tea.  Then  may 
be  asked  where  ends  the  number  of  Ibs.  consumed  by  the 
above  number  of  people  ? 

Probably  the  quantity  now  exported  by  sea  to  all 
places  may  be  under  120,000,0001bs.  I  should  say  the 
mark  would  be  96,000,000  to  100,000,0001bs  ;  that  by 
caravan  to  the  N.  West  of  China  it  is  impossible  to 
know.  It  is  not  easy  for  a  white  man  to  pass  through 
Nepaul ;  the  Nepaulees  and  the  Gourkees  are  daring 
hill  people,  and  wild.  The  Thibetians  are  like  the 
Chinese ;  and  to  pass  through  the  Singphoo,  Mesmees, 
and  Camptees,  would  be  impossible.  So  to  ascertain 
what  the  export  in  that  direction  is  at  the  present  day, 
or  to  form  an  approximation  to  what  it  may  be,  is  out  of 
the  question;  Martin  puts  it  down  at  10,000,000  Ibs. 
If  it  be  said  the  Chinese  are  tea  makers,  and  that  conse 
quently  they  must  consume  a  great  deal,  that  is  not  a  se- 
quiter.  It  may  be  recollected  of  Grimaldi  the  clown 
making  a  tour  to  Newcastle  to  eat  fresh  salmon  :  when 


PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   CONSUMPTION.  117 

he  got  there,  to  his  disappointment,  he  could  get  none,  as 
they  had  all  been  preserved  and  sent  off  for  sale.  This 
may  be  the  case  in  some  measure  with  the  Chinese — some 
may  sell  their  goods,  but  all  may  not  do  so.  If  it  be 
said  a  Chinese  would  consume  20  Ibs.  of  tea  in  the  year, 
then  the  inference  would  be  7,340,000,000  Ibs.  If  it  be 
said  some  may  not  use  it,  but  as  a  great  many  make  it 
their  daily  beverage,  probably  it  might  be  reckoned  that 
an  average  of  once  a  day  for  all  would  be  a  fair  calcula 
tion—well  that  would  be  still  2,527,000,000  Ibs.  Now, 
according  to  Rev.  Mr.  Gutzlaff's  statement,  the  extent  of 
the-  district  for  producing  good  tea  is  only  40  ly,  or  13 
miles  in  circumference,  which  would  at  the  most  only 
give  3,072,000  Ibs.,  leaving  an  opportunity  for  any  other 
nation  to  supply  China  with  from  2,527,000,000  to 
2,700,000,000  Ibs.  of  good  tea.  This  will  show  two 
things  :  the  difficulty  to  say  what  quantity  is  consumed 
in  China,  and  the  random  statements  writers  are  capable 
of  making.  It  is  impossible  to  say  what  quantity  of  tea 
is  consumed  in  China,  Nepaul,  Thibet,  &c.,  &c. 

All  that  is  known  for  certain  is,  that  by  twenty-two 
millions  of  Americans  there  are  20,000,000  Ibs.  of  tea 
consumed ;  that  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  by 
30,000,000,  there  are  50,000,000  Ibs.  consumed. 

Extent  of  the  use  of  tea  under  a  new  state  of  things  is 
to  the  purpose  to  inquire  ;  and  I  will  recapitulate  the 
expense  of  producing  tea  to  that  end. 

In  Assam — 

Plantations,  Selling  and  Bally-jahn,  per  Ib.  3|      cents. 

In  Singphoo  country — 

Plantations,    Koojoo,    Bura-inan-jan, 

Gin-Long,         .  .  .  per  Ib.  2  \      cents. 


118          PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   CONSUMPTION. 

Probable  expense  in  China,  per  Ib.  4  to  5      cents. 

Java  contract  price  for  delivery,  per  Ib.  5  cents. 

Probable  expense  in  America,      .      -          per  Ib.  2§  to  3^  cents. 

The  first  question  then  to  consider  is,  is  tea  necessary  to 
man  1  To  a  very  large  portion  of  the  human  race  it  is  a 
necessary  of  life.  It  may  be  replied  that  a  man  can  do 
without  tea.  So  he  could  ;  he  could  do  without  coffee, 
without  meat,  without  fish,  without  milk  or  butter  or 
cheese,  yet  all  these  things  are  necessaries.  To  the 
Chinese,  habit  has  rendered  tea  necessary.  Tobacco 
is  necessary  to  the  habitual  smoker,  and  see  to  what 
lengths  he  will  go  in  the  use  of  it.*  Tea  is  necessary 
to  every  tea  drinker ;  and  perhaps  there  is  no  period 
in  the  twenty-four  hours  when  a  man,  or  the  family  of  a 
house,  are  so  sociable  and  cheerful  as  at  tea  time.  Genu 
ine  tea  is  a  healthy  beverage,  corrective  of  a  tendency 
to  over  secretion  of  bile  ;  and  there  is  in  it  a  very  soothing 
quality,  which  refreshes  both  mind  and  body,  without 
bringing  on  after  depression  of  spirits.  These  qualities 
may  be  in  some  way  interfered  with  by  the  large  ad 
mixture  of  other  leaves,  by  coloring  matter,  or  by  milk, 
which  is  so  liable  to  grow  sour. 

If  the  poor  Chinese  woman  did  not  think  tea  a  necessary 
for  her,  she  would  not  card,  spin,  and  weave  cloth  and  sell 

*  It  is  a  well  established  fact,  although  not  probably  well  known, 
that  tobacco  contains  one  of  the  most  powerful  poisons — nicotine — in 
quantities  from  2  to  9  per  cent.,  five  drops  of  which  would  kill  even 
a  dog.  From  a  great  deal  of  experience,  I  can  say  that  a  tobacco 
smoker  has  but  a  poor  chance  against  jungle  fever.  Out  of  all  who  I 
know  got  that  fever,  none  recovered  but  myself  and  two  others. 
Two  of  us  did  not  smoke ;  the  other  smoked  very  moderately. 


PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   CONSUMPTION.  119 

it  for  tea ;  nor  would  the  poor  laboring  classes  in  this  and 
in  European  countries,  who  work  so  unsparingly  of  them 
selves,  pay  75  cents  to  $1  for  a  pound  for  it. 

Well,  it  is  seen  that  China  cannot  produce  enough  of 
tea  for  herself,  and  that  the  poor  in  Europe  and  America, 
the  Indian,  &c.,  cannot  get  an  article,  that  cost  only 
some  2  to  5  cents  to  produce,  for  less  than  on  an  average 
100  cents  per  Ib.  for  an  adulterated  kind.  Therefore,  tea 
is  in  a  manner  forbidden  to  man,  by  man's  own  mental 
indolence,  and  by  the  reprehensible  indifference  of  those 
who  have  had  opportunity,  and  means,  to  investigate  all 
things  connected  with  it.  Truly,  man  counteracts  the 
benevolent  designs  of  the  Creator,  and  then  blasphemes 
against  Him,  and  accuses  Him  of  the  miseries  of  which 
his  indolence,  his  apathy,  and  his  selfishness  alone  are  the 
causes. 

Let  the  consumption  of  tea  in  England  be  taken  into 
consideration— 30,000,000  of  people  consume  50,000,000 
Ibs.  of  tea,  for  which  they  pay  from  100  to  150  cents 
per  Ib.  The  duty  levied  on  tea  by  the  English  govern 
ment  is  55  cents  per  Ib.,  although  some  of  that  tea  sells 
in  London  as  low  as  8  to  12  cents  per  Ib.,  or  one-seventh 
the  amount  of  the  duty  alone — so  the  poor  hard  working 
man  has  for  that  tea  which  sold  in  London  for  4  to 
6  pence  the  Ib.,  (in  bond,)  to  pay  the  extraordinary 
price  of  3s.  6d.  to  4s.  per  Ib.,  or  (87-J-  to  100  cents  per 
Ib.)  Can  anything  be  more  oppressive  and  tyrnanical, 
can  anything  be  more  cruel,  than  that  a  poor  simple 
laborer  and  his  poor  family  should  be  so  shamefully 
mulct — that  poor  man  whose  sinews  are  ever  on  the 
stret-jli,  whose  perspiration  is  ever  pouring  forth  for  the 
support  of  the  whole  fabric  of  society — for  the  support  of 


120  TEA   CONSUMPTION   IN   ENGLAND. 

that  wretch  who  rolls  in  his  carriage,  avd  spends  his  life 
in  idleness,  corrupting  and  debauching  all  who  he  comes 
across  by  his  bad  example ;  amd  is  a  curse  and  a  stigma 
on  his  species  ? 

Of  England  and  Ireland's  30,000,000  of  inhabitants, 
say — 

500,000  drink  tea  twice  a-day,  or  15  Ibs.  yr.  each,      7,500,000  Ibs. 
4,000,000         "      once         "        7|        "  30,000,000    " 

12,000,000         "       once  a  week— 1  Ib.  per  annum,  12,000,000    " 

Total,         -'..-.      -         -         -     49,000,000  Ibs. 


This  shows  that  only  4,500,000  enjoy  the  daily  use 
of  tea,  that  the  other  25,000,000  can  have  no  tea  except 
in  case  of  sickness  or  on  festivities.  I  may  say,  and 
would  be  near  the  fact,  if  I  stated  that  4,000,000  of  tea 
drinkers  alone  consumed  the  50,000,000  Ibs.  There 
are  very  few  tea  drinkers  in  England  or  Ireland,  who  do 
not  take  tea  morning  and  evening.  Coffee  is  used  more 
in  coffee  houses  than  tea;  the  coffee  is  Id.  to  11  pence 
per  cup ;  tea,  2  pence  to  2£  pence  per  cup,  both  bad  as 
bad  can  be.  The  coffee  in  many  cases  is  made  from 
crisped  peas,  toasted  bread,  even  of  tilings  disgusting  to 
mention.  Tea  is  equally  adulterated,  or  substitutes 
used  equally  dangerous  to  health,  in  all  the  London 
coffee  houses.  All  that  chicanery  and  fraud  in  the  tea 
and  coffee  trade,  in  tea  and  coffee  houses,  which  goes  to 
injure  the  health  and  constitutions  of  so  many  citizens, 
could  at  any  time  be  easily  remedied  in  the  last  one 
hundred  years,  can  be  easily  remedied  to  day,  if  people 
will  inquire,  and  be  not  ignorant. 


TEA   CONSUMPTION    IX    ENGLAND.  121 

A  man  who  drinks  tea  once  a-day,  consumes  7^  Ibs. 
yearly.     Twice  a-day,  15  Ibs.  yearly — 

Say,  15  Ibs.  of  tea  at  100  cents  per  lb.,        -        -     $15 
To  every  1  lb.  of  tea  8  Ibs.  of  sugar  would  be  used, 
or  120  Ibs.  sugar,  say  10  cents  per  lb.,  besides 
milk,      -  -       12 

To  one  person  only  $27 

a  year  for  tea  and  sugar  for  a  poor  man,  who  has  his  tea 
twice  a-day.  Will  the  friends  of  temperance  look  to 
this,  and  consider  the  expense  to  a  poor  family — not  only 
in  America,  where  there  is  more  employment  and  better 
wages,  but  in  the  mother  countries,  where  labor  is  at  a 
low  price,  and  the  poor  man's  means  scanty  to  a  painful 
degree. 

It  can  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  the  great  bulk  of 
the  people  is  denied  the  use  of  tea.  And  therefore  it  is 
that-  some  100,000,000  Ibs.  are  only  consumed  in  all 
Europe,  America,  and  all  the  English  colonies. 

Supposing  one-half  of  the  population  of  China  drinks 
tea  once  a  day,  i.e.  180,000,000,  at  Ti  Ibs.  each— 
1,350,000,000  Ibs.  Then  take  all  the  east,  Thibet,  Ne- 
paul,  Burmah,  Siam,  British  East  India,  Persia,  Turkey, 
all  Europe,  Russia,  America,  including  north  and  south, 
Africa,  Australia.  In  all  these  countries,  more  or  less 
tea  is  drank.  There  are,  alone,  200,000,000  of  people 
in  British  East  India,  all  of  whom  would  drink  tea,  if 
they  could  obtain  it.  To  say,  what  may  be  the  extent ' 
to  which  tea  may  be  consumed,  would  be  impossible. 
But  to  suppose,  that  if  the  people  of  England  and  Ireland 
could  have  genuine  tea  at  20  cents  per  lb.  instead  of 
the  mixed  quality  they  now  get  for  100  cents,  it  would 
6 


122  TEA   CONSUMPTION   IN   ENGLAND. 

not  be  unreasonable  to  suppose,  under  the  circumstance 
of  tea  being  so  placed  within  the  reach  of  the  whole 
population,  that  then  there  woilld  be  some  150,000,000 
lus.  consumed.*  The  French  are  the  most  economical 
people  in  the  world,  they  will  not  now  use  tea.  The 
only  tea  imported  is  calculated  at  300,000  Ibs.  Reduce 
the  price  of  tea  and  the  case  would  be  different.  And  in 
America,  U.  States,  say  22,000,000  consume  only 
20,000,000  Ibs.,  hardly  that.  Let  her  produce  her  own 
tea,  and  the  case  will  be  different.  There  is  no  article 
of  consumption  for  which  there  is  so  extensive  opportunity 
for  progressive  increase,  and  that  in  the  eastern  world 
too,  more  so  than  in  Europe  and  America.  Europe, 
Asia,  and  America  contain  to-day  900,000,000  of  human 
souls,  nearly.  If  150,000,000  Ibs.  are  consumed  by 
thirty  millions  of  people,  it  would  not  be  too  much  to 
say,  that  the  whole  population  above  would  consume 
500,000,000  Ibs.,  and  that  America  would  find  ready 
sale  for  that  amount  at  20  cents  per  lb.,  which  would  be 
equal  yearly  to  100,000,000  dollars,  or  twice  the  amount 
of  the  whole  cotton  crop  in  value.  But  if  it  be  calculated 
that  England,  when  she  can  get  her  teas  at  one-fourth 
the  present  cost,  that  then  she  consume  100,000,000  Ibs., 
only  twice  her  present  quantity,  which  would  be  a  very  low 
calculation  of  3j-f  Ibs.  a  head— then,  of  the  900,000,000 
of  population  mentioned,  it  would  only  require  one  in 
every  six  to  drink  tea,  to  consume  500,000,000  Ibs. 
However,  America  herself,  at  no  distant  period,  will  con 
sume  500,000,000  Ibs.  of  tea,  if  she  will  but  set  to  and 
grow  it,  and  from  the  universal  desire  there  is  for  tea,  it 

*  The  Americans  consume  upwards  of  140,000,000  Ibs.  of  coffee, 
t  Much  less  than  the  people  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey  consume,  who  con 
sume  4  Ibs.  4  oz.,  and  Australia  7  Ibs.  per  head. 


CHINA,  AMERICA,  AM)   ENGLAND.  123 

^yill  be  the  one  article  most  extensively  consumed. 
America  can,  if  she  will.  She  has  the  soil,  climate, 
energy,  and  intelligence  to  appropriate  to  herself  the 
trade, 

STATE  OF  TRADE  BETWEEN  CHINA  AND  ENGLAND, 
AND  AMERICA  AND  CHINA. 

MR.  BALL  has  shown  the  expense  of  China  teas  when 
they  reached  Canton  and  Shanghaie  is  per  pecul  (133 l  Ibs.) 
—20  teals,  2  mace,  3  cash,  and  IT  teals,  7  mace,  4  cash, 
or  about  Is.O^d.,  and  Hid.,  or  25  cents  at  Canton,  and 
•22|  cents  at  Shanghaie  per  Ib.  Now,  the  average  sale 
price  for  1849  was  only  20  cents  at  Canton,  and  16 
cents  at  Shanghaie.  This  will  show,  if  Mr.  Ball  be  cor 
rect  in  his  statements,  that  a  very  heavy  loss  must  be 
sustained,  and  is  being  sustained,  on  the  China  side  of 
tea  matters.  However.,  adulteration  may  make  up  the 
deficiency. 

But,  for  a  series  of  years,  trade  in  China  has  been  un 
fortunate  for  the  English.  The  Parliamentary  Commit 
tee  of  184T  declared  that  the  loss  to  England,  taking  the 
trade  both  ways,  was  35  per  cent. ;  and  in  the  returns  of 
the  trade  with  the  five  ports  of  China  for  1847-48,  laid 
before  Parliament  in  1849,  by  order  of  her  Majesty,  Mr. 
Macgregor  states  : — u  From  the  information  which  I  have 
gathered,  I  am  led  to  consider  that  all  the  shipments  of 
tea  during  1847  has  had  a  very  unfavorable  result  for 
those  concerned  in  them.  This  is  fully  borne  out  by  the 
fact,  that  while  prices  at  home  have  been  progressively 
declining,  the  prices  here,  particularly  of  the  common  and 
middling  kinds  of  congou  (which  form  the  great  bulk  of 
export),  have  been  maintained  at  the  same  point  to  which 


124  CHINA,  AMERICA,  AND    ENGLAND. 

they  were  when  these  teas  sold  at  25  to  CO  cents  higher 
in  England.''  In  what  manner  the  trade  may  have  been 
rectified  in  1849  and  1850,  would  be  difficult  to  tell. 
Prices  in  England  have  been  much  the  same. 

Of  course,  China  has  the  ball  at  her  foot.  She  will 
not  go  out  of  her  own  port  to  buy  or  to  sell.  She  sees 
England,  the  United  States  of  America,  France,  the  East 
India  Company,  &c.,  &c.,  waiting  at  her  door  for  her  to 
buy  what  she  may  require,  or  to  sell  what  she  pleases. 
England  is  trading  with  her  at  a  loss  of  35  per  cent. ; 
possibly  America,  too,  may  be  obliging  to  her.  However, 
America  has  been  more  careful  than  England ;  the  latter 
finds  it  difficult  to  slacken  her  pace  in  any  trade,  to  the 
injury  of  herself  and  others.  Both  nations  are  forcing 
their  goods  and  their  money  on  China.  England  sells  her 
$10,000,000  worth  of  goods,  and  gives  her  $10,000,000 
of  cash,  for  tea  and  silk,  a  little  sugar-candy,  and  cam 
phor.  America  gives  her  all  her  goods,  with  some 
6,000,000  dollars  besides  in  cash,  for  tea,  silk,  &c. 
Then,  in  steps  the  British  East  India  Company,  laughs 
in  his  sleeve  at  the  English,  American,  and  Chinese, 
slily  points  at  100,000  chests  of  smuggled  opium  behind 
the  scene ;  and  says,  "  Well  done  America !  well  done 
England !  Contribute  your  shares  to  China,  that  she 
may  add  them  to  her  own  means,  and  buy  these  100,000 
chests,  and  so  supply  us  with  an  addition  to  our  Indian 
revenue  of  £5,000,000,  or  $25,000,000,  upon  which  our 
political  existence  depends."  The  English  merchant 
cries  out — "Let  us  buy  more  tea  from  China,  and  she 
will  buy  more  of  our  cotton  piece  goods."  The  Ameri 
can  says — "  Cannot  we  increase  our  trade  with  China." 
Arid  the  Chinese  cry — "  Come,  John  Bu:l  !  come 


CHINA,  AMERICA,  AND    ENGLAND.  125 

Yankee !  Ye  outside  barbarians,  buy  our  teas  and  our 
silks.  We  are  out  of  opium  ;  no  smoke  since  morning  !" 
And  both  parties  hand  over  in  cash  16,000,000  dollars, 
and  nearly  as  much  more  in  goods  ;  and  then  sweep  across 
the  mighty  waters  with  a  collection  of  forest  leaves ;  and 
that  is  the  way  to  increase  the  trade  with  China. 

It  was  argued,  on  the  part  of  England,  if  we  can  in 
duce  the  Chinese  only  to  wear  a  cotton  night-cap  each, 
367,000,000  night-caps  !  Why,  the  whole  of  Lancashire 
would  become  one  continuous  city.  Manchester  and 
Liverpool  would  kiss  each  other ;  and  all  England  would 
.have  been  under  one  perpetual  cloud  of  factory  smoke. 
And  what  a  day  that  would  be  for  cotton  in  America  ! 
Ambitious  men  would  pitch  all  idea  of  a  future  president 
ship  of  the  South  Atlantic  States  to  Old  Nick,  and  scam 
per  off  to  pick  cotton  bolls  !  But  the  disobliging  Chinese 
will  buy  opium,  which  he,  in  his  humble  ideas,  considered 
more  inducive  to  a  nap  than  a  cotton  night-cap.  More 
than  that,  they  have  the  audacity  to  go  almost  naked, 
or  wear  a  sheepskin  turned  inside  out,  and  even  to  grow 
cotton,  spin,  and  weave  it,  and  sell  it  to  buy  opium, 
and  even  tea,  from  his  neighbor.  Yes ;  let  America 
push  on  her  cotton  at  an  undervalue  of  30  per  cent, 
to  what  it  had  been  some  years  ago,  and  let  England 
push  on  cotton  piece  goods  made  from  that,  at  a  loss  of 
35  per  cent.,  upon  a  trade,  taken  both  ways,  all  to  cap 
the  Chinese  and  clothe  the  Indian.  Yes ;  let  England 
and  America  be  the  servants  of  servants ;  and,  as  they 
are  the  boasted  first-class  of  the  human  race,  show  these 
Mongolian  races  that  they  will  forget  the  bases  of  all  perma 
nent  wealth — cultivation — to  dress  and  deck  them  out  with 
fancy  robes,  at  such  losses,  forsooth,  to  have  a  great  trade ! 


126  BENEFIT   TO   ENGLAND. 

The  trade  with  China  has  been  long  forced.  It  is  seen 
that  both  nations  give  her  upwards  of  30,000,000  dollars, 
more  than  one-half  of  which  is  in  cash ;  that  she  only 
takes  some  13,000,000  dollars  from  them  of  their  wares; 
and  yet  both  England  and  America  say,  "Come,  let  us 
buy  more  silk,  more  tea,  and  she  will  buy  more  of  our 
cotton  goods  in  return."  Although  both  parties  see  they 
already  favor  her  yearly  with  some  16,000,000  to 
17,000,000  of  dollars  in  cash  for  her  teas  and  silks,  and 
that  she  hands  over  that  with  some  36,000,000  to 
38,000,000  of  dollars  for  opium,  they  still  will  persist  in 
giving  more. 

CULTIVATION     OF     TEA     IN     AMERICA     WOULD     BENEFIT 
ENGLAND. 

England  cries  out,  let  us  reduce  our  duty  on  teas,  then 
we  will  consume  more  of  China  tea,  and  China  will  be 
able  to  buy  more  of  our  "  piece  goods."  Reduce  the 
duty  6  pence  or  12£  cents  per  lb.,  that  will  increase  the 
consumption  in  England  fully  10,000,000  Ibs.  See  Par 
liamentary  Report  of  '47  on  commercial  relations  with 
China.  That  would  be  enriching  China  !  Did  ever  any 
person  hear  of  367,000,000  of  people  being  enriched  by 
30,000,000?  Yea,  by  that  30,000,000  consuming  an 
additional  10,000,000  Ibs.  of  tea,  which  at  20  cents  per 
lb.,  would  be  2,000,000  dollars,  or  about  £  of  a  cent  per 
head,  for  Chinese  to  buy  piece  goods  with. 

However,  were  England  to  reduce  her  duty  to-morrow, 
from  55  cents  to  5  cents  per  lb.,  what  would  be  the  ef 
fect?  Say  that  England  then  consumed  200,000,000  Ibs. 
of  tea,  150,000,000  Ibs.  of  an  increase,  it  would  be 
150,000,000  Ibs.  more  than  China  could  supply.  The 


BENEFIT    TO   ENGLAND.  127 

present  exports  of  China  are  say  100,000,000  Ibs.,  and 
for  a  great  portion  of  that  she  is  indebted  to  spurious 
leaves  ;  for  every  pound  she  had  to  supply  last,  or  this 
year,  she  would  have  2j  Ibs.  to  supply  next  year.  Would 
the  Chinese,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  drinking  tea  from  his 
childhood,  give  up  the  use  of  it  for  20  cents  per  lb.,  which 
does  not,  it  seems,  pay  the  Chinese.  The  Chinese  who, 
as  has  been  seen,  pay  for  Pouchong  and  Souchong  kinds 
in  their  own  country,  from  52  cents  to  115  cents  per  lb., 
and  for  Yen  Pouchong,  from  $3  75  to  $7  50  per  lb., 
give  up  the  use  of  it  for  20  cents  !  !  ! 

Would  the  smoker  give  up  his  tobacco  for  the  usual 
price?  Of  course  not.  And  if  the  Chinese  were  asked 
to  sell  his  teas  for  his  own  consumption,  he  would  natu 
rally  ask  upon  what  grounds  ?  And  if  he  saw  an  urgent 
demand  for  tea,  he  would  be  urgent  in  holding  out  for 
higher  prices,  so  that,  as  the  demand  was  increased,  the 
price  would  go  up.  That  is  the  natural  sequiter  in  all 
commercial  matters — and  instead  of  the  consumer  in 
England  deriving  the  benefit  of  the  reduction,  it  would 
go  to  the  Chinese. 

Tea  is  not  like  other  crops.  It  takes  three  years  be 
fore  any  material  quantity  of  tea  can  be  had  of  tea-trees, 
and  then,  if  a  sufficiency  of  trees  and  lands  be  planted  to 
produce  a  quantity  to  meet  the  demand,  from  the  small 
quantity  obtained  the  third  year,  the  increase  of  the 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth  years  would  glut  the  market ; 
well,  if  to  avoid  this  the  Chinese  only  planted  moderately, 
so  that  the  increase  on  the  fourth  year  would  be  sufficient 
to  meet  the  increased  demand,  then  for  that  four  years 
the  revenue  would  go  to  the  Chinese  ;  but  it  would  go 
for  a  longer  period,  for  the  Chinese  would  not  commence 


128  BENEFIT  TO    KXGL.AXD. 

planting  until  high  prices  induced  them  to  do  so  ;  that 
•would  take  a  year,  and  then  they  might  look  upon  the 
rise  as  temporary — and  considering  the  necessity  of  their 
land  to  them,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  make  them 
throw  it  out  of  one  cultivation,  which  paid  them  yearly, 
into  another  that  comparatively  would  not  pay  them  for 
three  or  four  years-  afterwards.  Therefore  it  may  be 
reasonably  supposed  that  tea  would  be  high  in  price  for 
five  to  six  years  after  reduction — probably  for  eight  to 
ten  years. 

The  revenue  the  British  government  derives  from  tea, 
is  £5,600,000,  or  $27,000,000.  The  import  of  tea  is 
generally  55  to  57,000,000  Ibs.;  if  only  50,000,000  of  that 
be  consumed  in  England,  and  the  remainder  re-shipped, 
the  duty  on  50,000,000  Ibs.  would  equal  $28,343,750— 
and  to  reduce  their  duty  from  55  to  5  cents  per  lb., 
would  be  to  lose  in  a  manner,  if  not  in  revenue,  at  least 
to  revenue  and  consumers,  the  whole  of  the  ten  parts 
out  of  eleven  of  the  above  twenty-eight  millions  of  dollars. 
China  will  not  increase  her  plantations  without  a  cause. 
Plantations  raised,  and  from  which  tea  is  not  manu 
factured  yearly,  would  be  but  a  waste  of  land,  as  the  trees 
would  have  to  be  cut  down  to  make  them  productive  when 
required ;  and  the  plant  from  the  seed  would  be  nearly 
equal  to  it  in  point  of  time,  and  in  point  of  endurance  far 
superior.  Then  England  stands  in  that  peculiar  posi 
tion  ;  she  must  go  on  as  she  is,  until  some  country  culti 
vates  the  tea  plant,  and  be  able  to  furnish  her  with  the 
teas  she  may  require  in  addition,  or  sacrifice  for  years 
her  revenue  of  some  27  millions  of  dollars.  And  in 
her  embarrassment,  she  would,  even  if  she  had  a  disrelish 
so  to  do,  be  obliged  to  take  American  teas,  if  presented ; 


BENEFIT   TO   ENGLAND.  129 

not  so,  however,  she  would  feel  it  a  pleasure,  to  be  able 
to  get  her  teas  at  one  half  the  price  for  the  consumer, 
and  in  largely  reducing  her  duties,  still  by  the  increased 
supply  and  consumption,  keep  up  her  revenue  to  the 
present  point — so  that  England  would  in  reality  get 
twice  the  quantity  of  tea  she  gets  now  for  the  same  money, 
or  for  less  even,  and  maintain  her  present  amount  of 
revenue. 


L 1  H  J{  A  R  \ 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


ON  this  article  little  need  be  said.  It  has  been  culti 
vated  and  manufactured  in  the  Southern  States  hereto 
fore,  and  is  now  grown  wild  over  them.  But  unfortu 
nately,  there  is  nothing  but  cotton,  cotton  ;  every  bless 
ing  and  every  advantage  that  might  be  reaped,  is 
ingulfed  in  the  only  one  and  all-engrossing  idea — cotton. 
When  indigo  was  an  export  staple  from  these  States,  the 
trade  was  very  different  from  what  it  is  now ;  and  it  is 
extraordinary,  and  shows  the  indolence  of  the  human 
mind,  that  in  the  Southern  States  there  is  not  one  to  be 
found  who  has  ever  inquired  how  the  indigo  plant  culti 
vation  has  been  getting  on  since  it  was  carried  away 
from  America ;  what  revolutions  the  trade  in  the  article 
has  undergone  ;  what  the  consumption  now  is,  and  what 
its  consumption  was  in  the  time  America  was  the  sole 
producer  of  it ;  to  what  amount  it  is  manufactured  now ; 
and  what  prices  it  realizes  ;  what  the  advantages  may  be 
that  the  eastern  world  may  derive  from  its  cultivation. 
No,  there  is  not  one  that  has  even  dreamed  of  being  in 
quisitive  on  the  subject.  Indigo  in  East  India  realized 
some  15,000,000  of  dollars.  The  amount  of  sales  of  all 
cotton  produced  yearly  the  last  twelve  years,  would  be 
53,000,000  dollars  ;  yet  here  is  an  article  one-third  the 
value  of  that  upon  which  the  whole  of  the  United  States 


INDIGO.  131 

are  dependent  for  their  prosperity  ;  an  article  all  know 
can  be  cultivated  here  successfully ;  and  yet  there  is  not 
one  to  ask  the  reason  why  it  is  not  now  cultivated.  Yet 
hardly  a  newspaper  can  be  taken  up,  but  there  is  a  puny 
scheme  advanced  for  the  relief  of  the  cotton  planter. 
The  gossip  all  are  content  with  is,  "  Our  fathers  culti 
vated  the  indigo  eighty  years  ago.  The  British  Govern 
ment,  to  whom  we  were  then  colonies,  gave  us  a.  shilling 
a  pound  bounty  for  producing  it.  Our  fathers  could 
make  out  but  a  poor  pittance  on  it,  and,  therefore,  it  was 
abandoned  for  cotton,  for  which  we  got  one  dollar  to  one 
.  dollar  fifty  cents  a  pound."  Well,  the  day  is  gone  by 
when  cotton  would  realize  that  price,  and  now  the 
planter  would  be  but  too  glad  to  realize  one-half  former 
prices.  Therefore  a  great,  very  great  change  has  come 
over  the  days  of  the  cotton  planter  ;  it  was  but  this  very 
year  when  it  was  the  merest  chance  saved  all  concerned 
in  cotton  from  a  general  bankruptcy. 

On  the  other  hand,  what  has  been  the  course  of  indigo 
cultivation  and  trade  ?  The  export  from  the  United 
States  some  60  years  ago  was  some  134,000  Ibs.  only,  and 
sold  for  a  price  of  2s. 6d.,  or  62  cents  per  Ib.  There  is 
now  an  export  of  indigo  from  East  India  of  13,000,000  Ibs. 
which  is  sold  on  the  spot  (Calcutta)  for  a  price,  the 
lowest  years,  of  100  to  140  cents  per  Ib.,  and  in  the 
highest  years  200  cents  per  Ib.,  and  the  lowest  descrip 
tion  60  cents  per  Ib.  Some  of  it  has  sold  as  high  as 
$2  45  per  Ib.  Such  are  the  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  the  two  articles  ;  one,  cotton,  has  sunk  to  the 
lowest  rate  it  can  safely  be  produced  for — the  other 
has  risen  to  a  price  which  gives  to  the  planter  in  a 
single  year  a  fortune. 


132  CULTIVATION   OF   IXDIGO. 

It  will  be  very  probably  stated  that  the  United  States 
could  not  produce  indigo  as  cheap  as  East  India,  which 
would  be  as  much  as  to  say,  whenever  East  India  chooses 
she  may  take  our  cotton  cultivation  from  us  also  ;  we  can 
not  produce  it  as  cheap  as  she  can.  Cotton  planters  will 
not  wish  to  acknowledge  that;  but,  wrhile  it  is  true  that 
they  can,  and  it  is  to  be  greatly  feared  will,  take  away 
the  cultivation  of  cotton,  yet,  from  local  cause,  Amer 
ica  can  take  away  from  India  the  indigo  trade. 

Let  the  reader  take  the  map  of  India,  or  of  Bengal, 
and  look  upon  its  face.  It  will  be  perceived  that  the 
country  is  one  continuous  flat,  covered  over  with  paddy 
districts  and  indigo  tracts,  dotted  all  over  with  indigo 
factories.  It  will  be  seen  the  whole  of  that  country  ap 
pears  like  an  anatomical  drawing  of  the  human  arteries 
and  veins  ;  and  it  will  appear  a  wonder  how  it  is  pos 
sible  to  travel  it,  from  its  being  so  cut  up  and  inter 
sected  with  rivers.  Look  at  the  great  Ganges  flowing 
down  from  the  North  West ;  look  at  the  mighty  Buram- 
pooter  sweeping  down  from  the  N.  N.  East ;  look  at  the 
Soan  River,  and  see  them  all  joining  their  ocean  of 
waters,  and  then  sub-dividing  into  thousands  of  streams, 
called  the  mouths  of  the  Ganges.  Travelling  there  is  in 
boats,  of  which  there  are  various  descriptions,  the  Bu- 
gerow,  the  Boleah,  the  Panswah,  &c.,  &c.  If  the 
traveller  be  in  one  of  these  boats  at  any  time  from  May 
to  the  end  of  October,  in  his  wanderings  he  may,  in 
the  evening,  see  the  country  high  and  dry  before  him, 
and  villages  reposing  in  peace  and  security.  In  the 
morning  he  may  be  riding  in  his  boat  where  one  of  the 
villages  lay,  and  behold  on  the  spot  its  wreck,  the  dead 
bodies  of  its  inmates  and  of  its  cattle  floating  around 


CULTIVATION   OF   INDIGO.  183 

him.  This  is  not  unfrequently  the  case.  Wet  days,  or 
the  snows  thawing  on  the  hills  from  an  unusual  hot  day, 
fill  up  the  beds  of  the  Ganges  or  Burampooter,  which 
collect  the  rains  of  the  surrounding  countries,  carry  them 
down  on  Bengal,  and  cover  over  the  face  of  the  country. 
Should  these  floods  commence  early,  the  fate  of  the  indigo 
planter  is  sealed.  The  prospect  he  had  on  going  to  bed 
of  realizing  a  support  for  life,  in  the  morning  is  converted 
into  the  prospect  of  a  residence  in  debtor's  prison.  Or  he 
may  get  up  in  the  morning  and  see  all  lost  by  evening  ; 
or  he  may  watch  anxiously  the  rising  for  three  or  four 
(lays ;  his  plant  is  not  ripe  to  cut,  nor  can  he  obtain  boats 
even  so,  to  convey  it  to  his  factory. 

Besides,  there  may  be  no  rains  for  the  October  sowing, 
nor  none  to  save  the  April  sowing — all  then  is  lost. 

Beyond  these  local  reverses,  which  make  the  planter 
consider  himself  a  most  fortunate  man  if  he  can  get  two 
successive  profitable  seasons  to  pay  off  his  heavy  liabili 
ties,  and  give  him  the  means  of  retiring ;  or  even  fortu 
nate  if  he  can  get  one  good  crop  in  three  years  to  keep 
himself  afloat ;  there  are  other  causes,  which  make  the 
production  of  indigo  in  the  East  comparatively  very  ex 
pensive.  The  planter,  although  so  called,  is  not  a  plant 
er,  he  is  a  manufacturer.  The  natives  are  the  planters — 
and  the  only  inducement  to  the  natives  to  plant  indigo  for 
the  Englishman  is,  he  gets  money  in  advance  for  the 
indigo  plant  which  he  is  to  deliver  months  afterwards. 
That  advance  enables  the  native  to  accommodate  him 
self  in  other  things, — such  as  sowing  paddy  or  plant 
ing  sugar-cane,  on  both  of  which  he  makes  a  profit ;  on 
the  indigo  plant  he  makes  little  or  none,  and,  as  seen,  the 
whole  may  be  a  loss,  as  the  poor  ryot  of  India  is  so  des- 


134  CULTIVATION   OP  INDIGO. 

titute  that  he  is  unable  to  pay  the  planter.  Therefore  he 
sows  the  indigo  to  discharge  himself  of  the  obligations 
incurred  by  taking  advances,  and  not  from  the  remunera 
tion  from  the  plant  itself.  Consequently  many  of  those 
who  take  advances  never  will  sow  ;  and  the  majority  of 
them  will  not  sow  except  by  compulsion  of  the  law.  Every 
advance  made  has  to  be  given  on  government  stamps,  or 
the  government  will,  if  at  all,  assist  the  planter  with 
great  reluctance.  But  beyond  all  these  troubles  it  often 
happens  that  the  planter  will  resort  to  every  expedient  to 
compel  the  riot  to  take  advances  and  cultivate  the  plant ; 
and  for  that  purpose  he  rents  the  districts  around  him 
from  the  zemendars,  (land-holders,)  that  he  may  have  the 
immediate  control  over  the  ryot,  (farmer,)  as  his  landlord, 
and  through  that  power  force  him  into  the  cultivation  ; 
and  to  obtain  that  power  he  will  pay  the  government 
revenue  for  the  land,  and  pay  another  revenue  to  the 
zemendar.  The  trouble  ends  not  here ;  the  lands  for 
indigo  are  limited.  The  zemendar  often  sells  his  right  to 
two  planters  ;  but  generally  all  zemendaries  (estates)  are 
held  in  India  by  a  family,  each  having  a  certain  share, 
not  in  the  division  of  the  lands,  but  in  the  proceeds.  One 
brother  may  have  one  "  hissa,"  (share,)  another  five,  and 
perhaps  some  friends  or  cousins  five  shares  more.  Each 
may  go  and  sell  his  right  to  different  planters,  who 
make  their  advances,  and  when  the  crop  comes  to  be  cut, 
then  is  the  "  tug  of  war."  Lattimars  (hired  fighters) 
are  called  into  requisition,  broken  heads  and  bones,  and 
frequently  murders,  are  the  consequences.  Then  law 
suits  on  law-suits,  appeals  after  appeals  ;  and  there  is  but 
little  exaggeration  in  stating  that  of  the  whole  cost  of  the 
production  of  indigo,  25  per  cent,  goes  in  law  ;  and  cer- 


CULTIVATION   OF   INDIGO.  135 

tainly  20  per  cent,  more  in  advances  that' never  can  be 
recovered.  And  it  is  usual  on  reading  an  advertisement  of 
an  indigo  factory  for  sale,  say  for  one  which  may  be  valued 
at  30,000  dollars,  to  see  the  statement,  the  balances  due 
on  the  factory  of  money  advanced,  of  40,000  or  50,000 
dollars.  The  value  of  indigo  factories  is  fictitious.  The 
buildings  of  a  factory  worth  30,000  dollars  might  be 
worth  possibly  400  dollars  (not  including  the  residence, 
which  is  sometimes  a  palace,  sometimes  a  bungalow, 
which  may  cost  for  building  300  to  500  dollars).  Indigo 
presses  are  nothing  more  than  a  few  strong  posts  of 
iron  with  screws  on  the  ends,  and  nuts,  with  a  wrench 
to  screw  down  the  nut,  and  may  cost  100  to  200 
dollars,  for  a  set ;  the  best  indigo  boiler  would  cost 
100  dollars,  or  perhaps  150  dollars.  Therefore  the 
capital  required  to  establish  a  good  large  factory  where 
a  planter  could  make  some  200  monds  (mond  of  indigo 
called  factory  mond  is  75  Ibs.,  the  bazar  mond  is  80  Ibs. 
The  bazar  mond  is  the  one  generally  used  except  in  the 
case  of  indigo,)  which  would  sell,  if  good  quality  indigo, 
for  15,000  dollars,  at  present  prices,  if  very  good  or  best 
quality,  nearly  20,000  dollars.  The  whole  of  that  fac 
tory  could  be  constructed  in  America,  buildings,  presses, 
boilers,  &c.,  for  1000  dollars,  or  less. 

I  cannot  give  the  produce  per  acre  of  indigo.  From 
our  mode  of  conducting  business  in  East  India,  it  could 
not  be  obtained  without  some  difficulty.  The  ryots  cul 
tivate  sometimes  in  little  patches,  sometimes  they  join  in 
cultivating  some  extent  of  land,  the  measurement  of 
which  they  know  not,  and  is  only  ascertained  on  another 
occasion,  that  of  paying  rent  for  it.  The  measurement 
is  per  "  biggah,"  which  varies  very  much  ;  and  to  ascer- 


136  CULTIVATION    OF   INDIGO. 

tain  the  produce  per  biggali,  they  do  not  know  the  quan 
tity  of  land  at  the  time  of  disposing  of  the  produce,  and 
probably  men  who  are  unacquainted  with  accounts  do  not 
remember  the  produce  when  they  are  made  aware  of  the 
quantity  of  land  by  the  call  for  the  rent.  They  leave 
part  of  the  plant  also  standing  for  seed. 

The  plant  is  sold  in  Bengal  by  the  bundle,  which  is 
measured  by  a  chain.  In  the  Doab  it  is  sold  for  1  rupee, 
(50  cents),  for  5  to  6  monds.  200  to  225  monds  of  plant 
to  a  mond  (75  Ibs.)  of  indigo,  is  a  fair  average  produce. 
Therefore  it  would  cost  about  36  to  40  rupees,  or  18  to 
20  dollars,  for  the  plant  necessary  to  make  75  Ibs.  of 
indigo.  The  expense  of  manufacturing  would  be  but 
little. 

The  water  in  India  for  indigo  steeping  is  drawn  up 
from  wells  or  rivers,  either  by  the  China  wheel,  or  by 
bullocks.  The  wells  are  some  of  them  70  feet  to  90  feet 
deep,  some  20  feet.  Throughout  India  the  water  is  not 
more  than  14  or  16  feet  from  the  surface,  except  in  un 
usually  high  altitudes. 

A  vat  would  contain  90  to  110  monds  of  plant.  To 
supply  three  vats,  it  would  take  in  India,  from  a  well, 
two  bullocks  and  a  man  a  day.  In  India,  the  wages  of 
the  man  and  his  bullocks  would  be  8  annas,  or  25  cents  ; 
two  men  to  fill  and  empty  the  vats  with  the  plant,  6  pice 
each,  or  3  annas,  equal  about  10  cents ;  six  men  would 
beat  two  vats,  or  say  nine  men  to  the  three  vats,  at  6 
pice  each,  131  annas,  or  say  40  cents ;  one  man  to  boil 
six  vats  at  12  pice,  or  three  annas  a  day,  one-half  equal 
to  5  cents  ;  one  man  to  procure  wood,  3  pice,  or  3  cents  ; 
two  men  to  press  it,  3  annas,  or  10  cents  ;  packing,  one 
man  to  3|  monds  would  be  but  very  little,  say  one-third 


CULTIVATION   OF    INDIGO.  137 

of  5  cents.  Conveying  the  plant  from  the'  field  would 
depend  upon  the  distance ;  the  indigo  field  is  sometimes 
four  and  five  miles  from  the  factory  in  India. 

I  will  give  the  above  items  in  tabular  order,  with  an 
estimate  of  the  probable  expense  in  America : 

Cost  of  200  to  250  monds  or  16,00  to  20,000  Ibs. 

plant,  say  $36  00  to  $40  00 

Three  men  to  fill  and  empty  3  vats         15  cents. 
Eaising  water  for  3  vats  25     " 

Half  of  one  man's  salary  to  boil     -  6     " 

Nine  men  to  beat  3  vats  45     " 

Two  men  to  press  the  indigo  -         10     " 

Expense  of  conveying  200  monds,  say  $2  00     " 
Fireman     -  5     " 

Wood  30     " 

Packing  and  chest,  60  cent.  3A  monds    20     " 

$3  56          S3  56  to   $3  56 


Total  expenses  per  75  Ibs.  $39  56  to  $43  56 

To  which  is  to  be  added  expenses  of  law-suits,  loss  of 
advances — making  it  at  the  very  lowest  53  dollars. 

PROBABLE  EXPENSE  IN  AMERICA. 

It  is  necessary  to  ascertain  in  some  way  the  produce 
per  acre.  Thirty  monds  would  be  a  good  produce  per 
biggah  ;  the  biggah  measures  20  khudams  (steps)  of  five 
feet  each  ;  the  step  in  India,  or  khudam,  is  the  space  be 
tween  where  the  right  foot  is  raised  from  the  ground,  to 
where  it  rests  on  the  ground  again — twenty  khudams, 
equal,  therefore,  100  feet ;  that  squared  is  10,000  feet — 
43,560  square  feet  in  an  acre — therefore  4-3  or  more  big- 
gahs  in  an  acre,  and  consequently  there  would  be  130 


138  CULTIVATION    OF   INDIGO. 

inonds,  or  10,400  Ibs.  of  green  plant  on  an  acre.  The 
biggah  was  generally  calculated  five  to  an  acre.  The 
Bengal  biggah  is  three  to  an  aore. 

But  as  the  above  is  my  own  experience  in  measuring 
and  weighing,  I  will  here  follow  it.  Now  the  ground 
where  I  had  been  cultivating  that  indigo  was  excessively 
sandy — so  that  at  the  lowest  calculation  130  monds,  or 
10,400  Ibs.  of  plant,  may  be  put  down  for  an  acre  in 
America. 

For  indigo  I  would  give  five  men  to  prepare  an  acre 
and  sow  it,  not  that  the  labor  is  greater  than  in  cotton, ; 
weeding,  one  man ;  cutting  the  plant,  six  men  per  acre  ; 
the  conveying  it  to  the  factory  would  cost  little,  as  the 
factory  could  have  the  lands  around  it  under  indigo, 
which  could  not  be  the  case  in  East  India.  Therefore, 

For  preparing  and  sowing  land,  6  men  per  acre,  at  20  cts.  $1  20 

For  weeding                                  2             "                   "  40 

Cutting  plant                                6             "                   "  1  20 

Conveying  to  factory,  a  man  and  horse,  say       -  60 

Two  men  to  fill  and  empty  one  vat  40 

Two  men  to  beat  two  vats  -  •  •'-,  40 
One  man  to  boil  six  vats,  £  part  of  his  wages  for  two  vats 

Firewood,  and  man,  two  vats     -  28 

Packing  and  chest,  3£  monds,  say  60  cents  —  f  20 

Raising  water,  two  men  for  six  vats — for  one  vat  7 

$4  83 

As  220  monds  of  plant  make  75  Ibs.  of  indigo,  therefore 
as  130  :  $4  83  :  :  220  :  or  $8  IT  per  mond. 

This  is  not  much  more  than  one  sixth  the  price  it 
would  cost  in  India.  In  America,  all  the  beating  of  vats 
and  raising  of  water  could  be  done  by  machinery.  The 
sowing  of  indigo  would  be  from  1st  of  April,  and  the 


CULTIVATION    OF   INDIGO.  139 

manufacturing  would  end  the  middle  of  September.  The 
indigo  plant  requires  to  be  only  weeded  once,  and  there 
can  be  no  hoeing  after  the  seed  be  sown.  If  it  is  shown 
that  the  manufacturing  with  labor  at  twenty  cents  in 
America,  is  cheaper  than  in  India  where  labor  is  put  down 
at  five  cents,  it  arises  from  the  purchase  of  the  plant. 
The  indigo  fails  so  often  in  India  from  causes  shown, 
that  if  the  riot  did  not  get  a  fair  profit  when  successful  in 
saving  his  crop,  to  pay  for  former  losses,  he  could  not 
go  on. 

Paying  for  labor  fifty  cents  per  day,  the  expense  of 
75  Ibs.  would  be 

Preparing  and  sowing  land,  6  men  per  acre                           $3  00 

"             weeding         2         "  1  00 

Cutting  plant                           6         "  3  00 

Conveying  to  factory  -         1  00 

Vats,  filling  and  emptying,    2         "  1  00 

Beating  vats                            2         "  .-  w        1  00 

Boiling  10 

Firewood,  &c.  -  25 

Packing  and  chest,  3£  monds,  75  cents,  j    -  15 

Raising  water  20 

$10  70 
m 

Say  220  monds  to  75  Ibs.  of  indigo.  Therefore  as  130 
:  :  10 .  70  :  :  220  :  $18  10  for  75  Ibs. 

The  lowest  description  of  indigo  sells  in  Calcutta  for 
not  less  than  30  dollars  for  the  75  .Ibs.  The  average 
price  for  good,  for  the  last  years,  would  be  about  65  dol 
lars  for  75  Ibs.;  but  the  best  Bengal  indigo  is  rarely 
under  80  dollars,  and  from  that  up  to  100  dollars.  Some 
time  ago  it  had  been  up  as  high  as  340  Rs.  or  170  dol- 


140  CULTIVATION   OF   INDIGO. 

lars  ;  that  i.«,  the  sale  price  obtained  by  the  planter  at 
Calcutta,  for  75  Ibs. 

It  will  be  seen  the  advantages  possessed  in  America, 
from  the  latitude  of  New- York  down  to  the  lowest  point 
in  Florida ;  for  as  the  sowing  and  manufacture  take 
place  between  1st  April  to  middle  of  September,  through 
out  that  space  it  is  fully  warm.  The  cultivation  of 
indigo  extends  from  Madras  up  to  Delhi.  Upwards, 
from  Patna,  the  plant  has  to  be  constantly  irrigated  ;  the 
hot  winds  that  set  in  more  or  less  in  March,  and  April, 
and  May,  are  indeed  very  hot,  and  there  is  no  rain  until 
10th  or  15th  June.  Irrigation  is  carried  on  from  a  well 
of  some  12  to  16  feet  deep,  lined  with  great  thick  straw 
ropes  towards  the  bottom.  The  well  generally  contains 
from  12  to  20  inches  of  water,  which  is  drawn  up  in  an 
earthen  pot.  The  work  is  painfully  slow.  The  expense 
of  manufacturing,  that  is,  the  expense  of  purchasing  the 
plant  and  manufacturing,  is  about  30  dollars  per  mond, 
which  is  considered  very  moderate.  An  European  would 
have  no  success  in  cultivating  the  plant  himself.  He 
could  not  possibly  expose  himself  in  the  hot  winds. 

America  has  her  lands  waste,  and  can  build  her  fac 
tories  in  the  centre  of  her  fields  ;  and  having  done  so,  it 
will  be  found  that  my  estimate  is  above  the  mark  at 
least  20  per  cent. 

Preparing  the  land  and  sowing,  weeding  once,  cutting 
the  plant,  filling  the  vats  and  taking  it  out  again,  is  all 
the  labor ;  anything  else  is  the  work  of  one  man  to  a 
large  quantity. 


CULTIVATION   OF   INDIGO.  141 


PROCESS  OF  CULTIVATION   AND  MANUFACTURE. 

The  land  is  ploughed  or  hoed,  say  some  nine  inches 
deep,  and  the  soil  is  pulverized,  i.  e.,  clods  well  broken, 
roots  of  grass  and  weeds  carefully  taken  a,way  ;  then  the 
seed,  mixed  like  flax-seed  with  clay,  is  cast  in  the 
ground,  and  a  very  light  harrow  ;  a  bush  with  moderate 
weight  on  it  is  used  often  in  India.  If  weeds  spring  up 
with  the  plant,  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  them  out ; 
the  plant  after  a  few  showers  covers  over  the  land,  and 
keeps  down  all  weeds.  It  grows  even  to  some  six  feet 
high,  varying  from  four  feet  to  five  feet.  When  it  gets, 
or  before  it  gets,  to  its  full  height,  and  before  the  leaves 
get  yellow  in  the  least,  the  plant  should  be  cut,  and  car 
ried  to  the  factory  the  same  day.  All  plants  should  be  cut 
very  early  in  the  morning,  and  then  placed  in  the  vats,  or 
otherwise  not  be  heaped  up  to  get  heated.  Each  vat 
may  be  made  to  hold  from  5,600  to  8,000  Ibs.  of  plants. 
The  plant  is  all  placed  horizontally  in  the  vat,  and 
when  filled  up,  hurdles  are  laid  on  the  top  of  the  plant, 
and  beams  are  laid  across  the  hurdles  ;  the  ends  of  the 
beams  being  secured  at  the  side  walls  of  the  vat.  The 
water  is  then  poured  in,  and  the  plant  is  steeped  for  ten 
hours  or  upwards,  depending  on  the  heat  very  much. 
The  water  is  then  drawn  off  from  a  vent  at  the  bottom  of 
the  vat,  into  another  vat,  built  at  the  base  of  the  one  in 
which  the  plant  had  been  steeped.  The  beams  are  then 
raised  off  the  hurdles,  and  the  hurdles  taken  away ;  and 
the  steeped  plant  is  taken  out  of  the  vat  and  made  use  of 
for  firewood.  A  large  quantity  of  potash  might  be  ob 
tained  from  i  t. 


1-12  CULTIVATION   OF   1XDIGO. 

The  water  being  drawn  off  from  the  upper  vat,  the 
steeped  plant  is  then  beaten  up  by  six  men  entering  into 
it,  and  beating  with  their  hanfls  until  the  coloring  matter 
which  is  contained  in  it  begins  to  show  itself  in  small 
atoms.  The  men  then  get  out,  and  the  indigo  or  fecula 
subsides,  and  soon  after  the  water  is  drawn  off.  There 
are  two  vents  in  the  lower  vat ;  the  upper  vent  is  for 
drawing  off  the  water,  the  lower  one  for  drawing  off  the 
indigo,  and  a  quantity  of  the  water  which  could  not  be 
well  drained  off,  without  disturbing  the  fecula.  The 
fecula  is  then  put  into  a  small  vat,  either  of  wood  or 
masonry,  and  allowed  to  rest  some  time,  and  then  more 
of  the  water  is  drained  off.  It  is  then  taken  to  be  boiled 
in  a  boiler  generally  from  six  to  ten  feet  square,  and  four 
or  five  deep,  and  all  froth  carefully  skimmed  off.  It 
takes  five  or  six  hours  to  boil  it.  The  boiler  is  made  of 
copper  or  iron,  as  the  party  may  fancy. 

When  boiled,  it  is  let  out  from  a  vent  in  the  bottom  of 
the  boiler  into  a  vat,  where  the  fecula  soon  subsides,  and 
more  of  the  water  is  then  drawn  off.  It  is  then  filled 
into  square  cases,  pierced  with  small  gimlet  holes  at 
about  two  inches  apart ;  in  the  wooden  square  is  placed 
a  cloth  fitting  to  the  square  ;  and  then  the  boiled  indigo, 
still  retaining  a  good  deal  of  water,  and  consequently  of 
a  thin  consistency,  is  filled  into  the  square  ;  a  lid  is  then 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  square,  which  fits  into  it,  and  all 
is  placed  under  the  press  ;  and  as  the  lid  is  pressed  down 
into  the  square,  it  forces  the  water  through  the  cloth, 
and  through  the  holes  in  the  side  of  the  frame ;  then, 
when  all  the  moisture  that  can  be  pressed  out  is  done  so, 
the  sides  of  the  square  or  box  are  taken  off,  and  the 
indigo  left  on  what  had  been  the  bottom.  The  whole  is 


THE   DATE   TREE.  143 

then  divided  by  a  board,  or  measure,  into  eight  parts, 
and  cut  through  by  a  piece  of  wire,  giving  sixty -four 
squares  ;  then  each  square  or  cake  is  placed  on  a  hurdle 
in  the  shade  to  dry.  The  doors  of  the  drying  house  are 
locked  up,  and  the  indigo  in  that  state  takes  a  month  to 
dry ;  when  it  is  packed  in  a  strong  coarse  case,  and  sent 
to  market. 

In  precipitating  the  indigo,  it  is  not  good  to  use  any 
thing.  Lime  is  destructive,  and  gum  makes  it  hard, 
and  liable  to  crack,  which  is  not  liked. 

DATE  TREE. — Phoenix  Sylvcstris. 

It  requires  little  more  than  to  bring  this  tree  to  the 
notice  of  Americans.  The  cultivation  of  it  is  simple ; 
any  man  who  ever  planted  a  tree  can  manage  this. 
The  tree  gives  toddy,  (a  milky  kind  of  juice,  and  intoxi 
cating,)  on  the  third  or  fourth  year.  In  India  the  plant 
er  taps  it  so  soon,  that  the  jackalls  drink  the  taree  or 
toddy  out  of  the  earthern  pots. 

This  tree  grows  all  over  East  India,  but  it  is  said  to 
do  best  on  the  sea  coast.  It  produces  8  to  10  Ibs.  of 
sugar,  and  even  12  Ibs.,  per  tree. 

It  may  be  planted  one  in  every  12  feet  square. 

The  sugar  from  the  date  tree  makes  a  beautiful  grain  ; 
it  has,  if  exposed  much,  a  peculiar  flavor,  and  con 
sequently  in  East  India  it  is  frequently  mixed  with  cane 
sugar,  which  improves  both. 

The  tree  will  grow  in  all  the  pine  lands,  and  in  all 
sandy  lands. 

To  collect  the  taree,  a  slit  is  made  in  the  tree,  and 
a  pot,  (earthern,)  is  secured  immediately  under  the 


144  THE   COFFEE   PLANT. 

incision,  into  which  the  milk  is  poured,  and  from 
time  to  time,  as  the  man,  or  woman,  or  boy,  goes 
round,  the  milk  may  be  collected  and  brought  into  the 
factory.  The  tree  gives  no  trouble  beyond  the  planting, 
and,  if  it  is  required,  crops  of  vegetables,  £c.  can  be 
grown  between  the  trees.  It  is  one  of  the  hardiest  trees 
in  India,  and  grows  without  cultivation.  Wherever  a 
squirrel,  crow,  &c.  may  drop  a  seed,  there  will  grow  up 
a  tree.  Since  1840  this  tree  has  been  very  extensively 
cultivated  in  India,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  East  In 
dian  sugar  is  made  from  it.  There  may  be  300  trees 
or  more  planted  to  the  acre.  It  yields  no  fruit,  and 
may  be  looked  upon  as  an  ornamental  gigantic  sugar 
cane. 

THE    COFFEE    PLANT. 

To  introduce  this  plant  successfully,  would  be  doing  a 
great  service  to  America.  The  question  some  would  put 
is,  would  it  succeed  in  America  ?  Many  experimentalists 
uould  answer  in  the  negative.  However,  there  is  an  old 
saying,  give  the  old  fellow  his  due,  and  to  a  useful  article, 
give  it  more  than  its  due;  give  every  care  and  atten 
tion  to  those  productions  that  are  so  valuable.  The 
consumption  in  America  is  145,000,000  Ibs.  and  in 
England  is,  say  nearly  37,000,000  Ibs.,  (this  was  the  con 
sumption  in  1846);  there  can  be  no  great  increase  in  the 
amount,  there  being  in  the  last  years  so  extensive  an  adul 
teration  of  this  article.  France  consumes  say  50,000,000 
Ibs.*  These  numbers  will  show  the  quantity  of  coffee 
that  must  be  used  throughout  the  world,  if  some  eighty 
millions  of  French,  English,  and  Americans  consume 

*  In  1811,  the  consumption  was  45,000,000  \bs. 


THE   COFFEE    PLANT. 


232,000,000  Ibs.,  and  some  70,000,000  Ibs.  of  tea  besides. 
A  little  plant,  of  so  vital  importance,  requires  considera 
tion.  Has  it  found  any?  What  experiments  have  been 
tried  ?  Have  these  experiments  been  published  ?  Has 
any  premium  been  offered,  and  how  often,  for  the  suc 
cessful  growth  of  the  plant  ?  I  fear  agricultural  socie 
ties  in  America  are  nothing  more  than  periodical  gather 
ings  of  crowds.  I  have  met  with  no  agricultural  society 
in  America  more  than  a  few  people  who  collected  to 
discuss  things  that  have  been  cultivated  for  scores  of 
years,  and  old  wines. 

A  man  in  America  gets  a  little  plant  stuck  in  a  pot, 
the  pot  is  watered  when  it  is  convenient  to  do  so,  or  when 
it  is  not  forgotten.  However,  moisten  the  earth  ever  so 
often,  is  it  certain  that  a  few  handfuls  of  clay  cut  away 
from  its  mother  earth,  (and  from  all  those  fluids  and  gases 
&c.,  and  the  changes  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  the  dews  or 
evaporations  of  the  night  may  cause,)  retain  the  same 
qualities  to  support  vegetation  ?  The  plant  derives  its 
nutriment  from  the  earth.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
there  is  a  continued  circulation  of  fluids  and  gases 
through  the  earth  —  and  that  a  portion  of  clay  or  mould 
being  removed  and  placed  in  pots,  &c.,  is  cut  away  from 
that  circulation,  and  consequently  the  plant  grown  in 
pots  has  not  the  same  means  of  nutriment  that  it  would 
have  in  the  earth  —  and  therefore  must  be  defective 
in  its  nature,  and  differ  from  the  plant  in  the  ground 
of  the  same  species.  Every  man  who  takes  upon  him 
self  to  make  these  experiments  should  duly  consider  the 
value  of  the  plant  in  hand,  and  should  be  most  careful 
how  he  treated  it  —  and  should  in  such  case,  if  one,  or 
two,  or  half  a  dozen  experiments  were  not  satisfactory, 
7 


146  THE   COFFEE   PLANT. 

still  persevere,  and  try  all  soils  in  the  locality,  and 
plant  seeds  from  all  climates,  and  procure  plants  at  all 
ages,  from  not  one  only,  but  from  a  variety  of  climates. 
There  are  cases  where  some  plants  cannot  be  raised  from 
seeds,  and  where  even  young  plants  from  other  countries 
cannot  live  without  changing  their  nature ;  yet  old 
plants  being  introduced  may  succeed,  and  the  seeds  from 
such  old  plants  after  a  few  years  may  be  acclimated,  and 
fit  for  the  propagation  of  young  plants.  However,  I  do 
not  think  that  all  that  labor  is  necessary  for  the  coffee 
plant.  There  is  every  variety  of  soil  and  climate  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  abundance  of  room  can 
easily  be  found  adapted  to  the  growth  of  coffee  or  any 
thing  else  ;  and  abundance  of  coffee  seeds  or  plants  can 
be  had  acclimated  for  at  least  all  the  States  down  from 
35°  of  North  Latitude.  However,  I  do  not  recommend 
that  any  party  should  invest  a  fortune  in  coffee  planta 
tions  ;  a  large  quantity  might  be  produced  without  great 
expense  by  having  a  few  garden  trees  or  hedge  trees,  or 
half  an  acre  or  so.  There  are  coffee  plantations  high  up 
on  the  Chera  hills  of  North  East  of  India,  where  it  is 
excessively  cold  in  winter  ;  they  belong  to  a  gentleman 
with  whom  the  writer  is  personally  acquainted.  I  have 
seen  coffee  grown  wild  in  the  27th  deg.  North  Latitude 
of  India,  on  hills,  some  three  to  four  hundred  feet  high, 
where  it  was  intensely  cold,  and  where  there  were  frost, 
snow  arid  hail,  and  all  around  it  the  higher  mountains 
capped  with  perpetual  snow.  There  is  nothing  therefore 
required  but  attention  to  the  various  sides  of  the  ques 
tion  and  perseverance.  And  it  is  not  only  coffee  that 
requires  these  virtues,  but  every  thing  else — and  with 
out  them  there  can  be  little  success.  It  would  be  well 


THE   COFFEE    PLANT. 

for  society  if  it  could  in  some  way  be  saved  from  the 
present  inundation  of  books  of  light  reading.  It  is 
not  the  time  only  that  is  spent  in  poring  over  them — but 
they  render  the  mind  incapable  of  devoting  itself  to  the 
quiet,  solid  information  that  would  be  useful,  and  render 
every  man  possessing  such  knowledge  a  useful  member  of 
society.  It  may  be  safely  supposed  that  one  per  cent,  of 
those  capable  of  reading,  and  who  do  read,  do  not  give 
five  per  cent,  of  their  leisure  time  to  that  useful  study 
that  would  tend  to  promote  society.  A  Mrs.  Trollope — 
or  any  other  old  Mrs.  that  might  write  some  exciting 
stuff — the  divorced — the  disappointed — the  courtship — 
the  newly-married — the  rake — the  suicide,  &c. — will 
command  more  attention  than  all  the  philanthropists  in 
whose  hearts  a  holy  love  is  ever  burning,  and  whose 
heads  are  ever  engaged  in  deep  study  for  the  good  of 
their  fellow-creatures.  Were  Father  Mathew  to  write  a 
book  to-day,  after  all  his  heavenly  ministrations,  a  book 
that  would,  if  read,  lead  thousands  to  happiness — it  is 
doubtful,  if  it  was  handed  to  any  of  our  great  periodical 
publishers,  with  the  manuscript  of  some  novel  from  the 
pen  of  any  of  the  well-known  novelists,  whether  Father 
Mathew's  book  would  not  be  rejected,  the  novel  published, 
and  prove  a  good  speculation.  And  this  is  the  great 
improved  society  of  1851. 

However,  to  return  to  my  subject.  The  coffee  plant 
should  be  introduced  into  America — not  as  a  speculation 
by  which  fortunes  are  to  be  realized ;  any  that  would 
move  in  the  matter  for  immediate  profits,  probably  would 
be  disappointed  ;  but  it  is  easy  for  any  one  possessed  of 
a  garden,  to  have  a  few  plants,  and  in  that  manner  let 
the  growth  proceed  gradually  in  these  States,  I  have 


THE   COFFEE    PLANT. 


seen  a  great  deal  of  speculation  in  coffee  planting,  and 
invariably  money  lost.  However,  mismanagement  had 
a  great  deal  to  do  in  the  matter.  The  cultivation  in 
Ceylon  is  beginning  to  pay  now,  and  probably,  with 
justice,  will  pay  well. 

I  should  say  there  is  much  injury  done  by  experiment 
alists  introducing  at  once  exotics  from  very  hot  climates 
to  colder  ;  for  instance,  because  it  is  near,  from  West 
Indies  to  America,  to  North  of  32°  of  N.  Lat.  It  is 
easily  to  perceive  the  great  change  of  climate  there  must 
be  in  carrying  a  plant  so  many  degrees  of  lat.  from  its 
native  place,  whereas  degrees  of  longitude  change  the 
climate  little  ;  perhaps  any  change  in  such  case  would 
be  owing  to  local  causes.  Every  degree  of  latitude 
crossed,  is  a  certain  degree  of  change,  except  intercepted 
by  great  altitudes,  &c. 

Judicious  proceedings  and  perseverance  will  introduce 
coffee.  How  has  indigo  been  introduced,  but  by  a  young 
lady  possessed  of  these  qualities,  Miss  Lucas,  who, 
like  many  young  ladies  determined  to  accomplish  their 
wishes,  prevailed  over  every  obstacle?  The  first  at 
tempt  of  Miss  Lucas  was  a  failure,  so  was  the  second  — 
the  third  was  successful.  I  wish  there  were  a  few  young 
or  old  gentlemen,  or  young  ladies  to-day,  of  Miss  Lucas's 
determination  and  active  mind. 

Look  at  the  cotton  spinners-  of  England  in  their  en 
deavors  to  produce  cotton  in  East  India.  They  feel  that 
all  the  elements  are  there  for  its  successful  cultivation  ; 
they  will  not  admit  of  the  idea  of  a  failure.  The  British 
East  India  Company  have  expended  some  100,000  dol 
lars  ;  it  has  got  some  half  dozen  planters  from  Georgia  ; 
it  has  told  the  people  of  England,  "  We  have  done  sr 


THE   MANGO   TUJSE.  l-i9 

much  to  send  you  better  cotton."  The  people  of  Eng 
land  say,  "  Yes,  and  you  must  do  more."  And  the 
House  of  Parliament  is  moved,  session  after  session,  and 
the  British  East  India  Company  charged  with  blame 
and  reproach,  and  urged  to  proceed.  Nor  do  the  people 
stop  there ;  they  make  efforts  on  their  own  part,  and 
have  sent  out  their  own  commission  of  inquiry,  which 
will  cost  several  thousand  dollars  ;  and  if  that  should 
fail,  they  will  send  another. 

That  is  the  kind  of  spirit  to  make  progress.  There  is 
intelligence  declaring  itself  resolved  to  compel  every 
obstacle  to  yield  before  it.  That  is  the  spirit  that  made 
a  poor  little  island  the  most  powerful  people  of  the  times  ; 
and  it  is  the  spirit  that  will  force  the  productive  powers 
of  India,  in  a  few  years,  into  competition  with  the  world. 
That  was  the  spirit  that  raised  up  Carthage,  Rome, 
Venice,  &c.,  &c.  ;  that  was  the  spirit  that,  in  modern 
times,  raised  up  America  to  it  present  grandeur  and 
greatness.  Is  that  prosperity  now  to  ebb  back  for  want 
of  that  spirit  ?  Americans,  look  to  the  falling  off  in  your 
staples  to  the  disappointment  of  all,  as  too  certain  indi 
cations  of  stagnation,  and  of  want  of  that  spirit  in  you. 


THE    MANGO    TREE 

Is  the  most  important  fruit  tree  that  exists,  and  if 
all  do  not  agree  that  its  fruit  is  the  very  best,  must 
agree  that  it  is  one  of  the  very  best.  The  fruit  of  the 
best  kind  is  as  large  as  the  largest  citron,  but  somewhat 
flat  and  oblong  in  shape,  and  measures  seven  to  eight 
inches  in  length,  and  nine  to  ten  inches  in  circumference. 


150  THE    MANGO   TREE. 

It  has  a  kernel  inside  which,  in  a  fruit  of  the  above 
measurement,  would  be  about  four  inches  long  and  an 
inch  in  thickness  ;  the  skin  is  about  one-tenth  of  an  inch 
in  thickness. 

The  fruit  is  used  in  three  ways — as  mango  fool,  as 
pickles,  and  as  a  fruit  when  ripe. 

The  tree  is  a  beautiful  tree,  with  very  thick  foliage, 
acting  as  an  impervious  umbrella  against  rain,  and  a 
most  delightful  retreat  from  the  heat ;  for  in  the  heat  a 
resinous  substance  is  given  out,  which  gives  the  sweet 
perfume  of  the  fruit  itself.  It  grows  to  about  fifty  feet 
in  height,  bears  the  fourth  year,  and  as  it  gets  larger  in 
the  sixth  and  seventh  year,  bears  from  200  to  400  fruit. 
This  tree  is  generally  planted  in  India  in  groves,  gener 
ally  of  twenty  to  fifty  trees.  The  kind  called  the  Bombay 
mango  is  the  best.  Up  towards  Delhi  the  best  fruit  is  to 
be  found ;  but  in  Dacca,  Calcutta,  Madras,  and  Bombay, 
the  fruit  is  excellent.  The  mangoes  are  not  all  of  the 
kind  I  have  described*  There  are  some  nearly  as  infe 
rior  as  those  to  be  seen  at  Charleston  from  the  West 
Indies.  The  West  Indian  mango  has  a  nasty  turpentine 
flavor,  and  is  so  stringy,  that  it  takes  a  day  to  pick  the 
fibres  from  between  the  te^th.  There  are  none  so  bad 
in  India,  but  there  are  some  very  inferior. 

The  mango  fruit  is  an  article  of  great  inland  commer 
cial  importance.  In  the  great  cities  of  India,  for  four 
months  in  the  year,  whole  streets  are  lined  with  stores  of 
them,  and  thousands  of  people  are  to  be  found  hawking 
them  about.  Hackeries  (carts,  drawn  by  two  bullocks) 
loaded  with  them,  pour  in  from  all  parts,  and  the  ghaut 
(wharfs)  are  thronged  with  boats  bearing  them  to  the 
markets.  At  the  meat  bazaars,  to  which  all  resort  in 


THE   MANGO  TREE.  151 

the  early  morning,  there  is  no  provision  'basket  leaves 
without  its  hundred  or  half-hundred  mangoes.  The  poor 
live  on  them,  and  the  rich  indulge.  Few  there  are 
who  do  not  eat  them  some  time  in  the  day,  most  all  three 
times — at  breakfast,  lunch,  and  dinner ;  and  ladies  retire 
to  their  apartments,  that  nobody  may  be  the  wiser  how 
many  they  may  eat. 

If  in  the  Mafuzil  country  a  man  should  sally  forth 
in  careless  wandering,  he  may  see  over  that  interminable 
plain  Midan  clumps  of  trees  here  and  there  to  break  the 
sameness  of  the  place.  He  may  wander  from  the  scorch 
ing  heat  into  one  of  their  shades ;  his  senses  are  in  every 
way  delighted ;  he  is  under  the  deep  foliage  of  the  mango 
tree ;  its  perfume  regales  him,  and  all  in  and  around  is 
as  if  it  were  all  creation  associating  in  one  united  family. 
There  lies  the  shepherd  in  the  shade,  his  goats  and  sheep 
resting  by  his  side.  Even  the  wide-spread  herd  of  ante 
lopes  come  to  sniff  the  sweet  odor,  and  would  fain  lay 
themselves  down  were  it  not  for  man's  presence.  Fur 
ther  off  skulks  the  savage  wolf  and  his  few  companions. 
Around,  from  leaf  to  leaf  and  from  flower  to  flower,  the 
butterfly  flutters  and  the  bees  display  their  varied  hues, 
and  hum  forth  their  song.  The  grasshopper  and  the  mole- 
cricket  are  found  in  every  variety.  There  the  crows  sit 
picking  the  sheep ;  there  the  familiar  mina  hops  from  the 
sheep  to  the  goat,  and  from  the  goat  to  the  shepherd ;  and 
then  mounts  the  crow's  back,  as  if  desirous  to  amuse  his 
neighbors  ;  there  is  the  widow-bird  floating  through  the 
air,  with  its  long  and  graceful  train ;  there  is  the  brilliant 
jay,  the  golden  oriole,  the  scarlet  tuddy  bird ;  there  are 
the  parrakeets ;  there  is  the  sweet  bulbul ;  there  is  the 
tree-duck  and  the  tree-teal,  and  the  smaller  and  larger 


152  THE    LEECHEE   TREE. 

green  pigeons,  and  the  timid  hare  gambolling  at  the  other 
end.  Such  is  the  collection  to  be  found  in  a  mango  tope. 
And  then,  there  hangs  the  mango  in  all  its  golden  rich 
ness  among  the  thick,  glossy,  dark  green  leaves.  And 
there,  too,  may  arise  a  more  holy  remembrance,  viz., 
that  that  grove  had  been  planted  by  order  of  the  sick  old 
man  on  his  death-bed  for  the  improvement  of  his  country, 
and  in  compliance  with  the  desire  of  his  Shaster  (Hindoo 
bible) ;  and  who  will  say  that  that  good  act  which  gave 
shelter  to  so  great  and  varied  a  number  of  God's  crea 
tures,  and  fruit  to  man,  did  not  bring,  on  that  feeble  old 
man,  God's  mercies. 

For  America,  the  mango  trees  would  be  the  greatest 
acquisition.  They  would  be  the  best  possible  trees  to 
line  the  streets  of  its  young  progeny  of  Babylonian  cities. 
They  would  be  a  tree  in  the  private  gardens  to  which  the 
owner  would  point  with  pride,  and  watch  with  the  greatest 
vigilance,  and  send  a  few  fruit  to  his  long -respected  neigh 
bor  with  the  greatest  complacency.  For  the  farmer  and 
the  fruiterer,  the  tree  would  be  a  source  of  great  profit, 
and  every  family  could  add  new  luxuries  to  their  table — 
mango  fool,  mango  pickles,  and  mangoes  themselves  in 
season. 

But  poor  indeed  must  the  mango  still  appear  from  my 
description  of  it,  to  what  it  really  is ;  and  I  submit  that 
Americans  ought  to  make  some  exertions  to  procure  it, 
to  see,  to  taste,  and  to  pronounce  on  its  qualities. 


THE  LEECHEE  TREE,  OR  LITCHEE, 

Is  a  shady  and  large  tree,  some  40  feet  high,  orna 
mental,  and  bears  the  fruit  of  that  name.     It  is  a  deli- 


THE  JACK  FRUIT  TREE.  153 

clous  fruit,  as  large  as  a  good  sized  plum.  •  It  produces 
a  very  large  quantity  of  fruit,  and  there  is  not  the  least 
injury  to  be  feared  from  a  free  use  of  it.  In  that  re 
spect,  it  is  like  the  mango.  The  fruit  is  dried  in 
India.  Foo-chew  Fo,  in  Fo-Kein,  in  China,  is  noted  for 
her  leechees,  and  her  trade  in  them  in  a  dried  state  is 
extensive. 

The  leechee  tree  is  not  of  equal  importance  as  the 
mango,  but,  as  stated,  it  is  of  a  delicious  flavor,  and 
plentiful  in  the  season,  June,  July,  and  August. 

THE  JACK  FRUIT  TREE 

Is  also  a  large  tree,  from  40  to  50  feet  high.  The 
fruit  grows  from  the  stem  of  the  tree.  It  is  very  large, 
some  equal  to  the  largest  sized  water  melon.  The 
skin  is  rough.  The  natives  are  very  partial  to  it ;  and 
it  is  frequently  served  on  the  tables  of  Europeans  in 
India,  in  pies,  &c.  The  tree  bears  from  30  to  60  fruit, 
and  as  no  care  or  attention  is  bestowed  on  the  tree,  and 
bearing  so  great  a  quantity  of  vegetable  food,  it  is  one 
of  great  importance  with  the  natives.  Another  advan 
tage  is,  the  fruit  arrives  at  maturity  at  irregular  periods, 
i.  e.  one  jack  may  be  ripe,  when  another  is  but  of  a  very 
small  size  on  the  same  tree.  I  never  was  partial  to  the 
fruit ;  but  once  in  my  wandering  through  the  immense 
and  gloomy  forest  of  the  Singphoo  country,  with  one  fol 
lower,  we  found  a  jack  tree,  with  one  solitary  fruit  on  it, 
which  saved  us  from  starvation,  and  enabled  us  to  make 
our  way. 

The  wood  of  the  tree  is  yellowish,  and  is  capable  of  a 
high  polish.  I  believe  it  is  the  best  wood  in  India  for 
printers'  blocks,  &c. 


154       THE   QUAY  A,    GRANGE,    AXD    LIME   TREES. 

This  tree  grows  all  over  India  ;  and,  like  the  coffee 
plant,  embraces  some  30  degrees  of  latitude,  and  so 
is  capable  of  bearing  a  great  variety  of  climate  and  soil. 

THE    GUAVA   TREE. 

This  excellent  fruit  tree  could  be  easily  introduced 
into  America.  The  Southern  States  would  be  sufficiently 
temperate.  It  grows  in  climates  in  India  colder  than 
any  part  of  Georgia.  No  tree  yields  a  greater  abundance 
of  fruit,  and  guava  jelly  is  known  all  over  the  world. 
These  trees,  &c.,  not  being  in  America,  shows  a  great 
lack  of  individual  enterprise. 

THE    ORANGE    TREE. 

This  tree  could  be  introduced  from  the  North  East  of 
India,  from  any  part,  from  25°  North  Lat.  up  to  33°. 
Of  course  there  would  be  a  vast  difference  between  those 
trees  from  high  latitudes,  and  those  of  West  Indies  under 
the  line.  My  belief  is,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  West 
Indies  has  been  a  misfortune  to  America,  for  all  experi 
ments  in  introducing  exotics  have  invariably  been  made 
on  West  India  plants,  because  they  are  easily  to  be  ob 
tained  ;  and  as  such  experiments  have  proved  failures, 
ergo,  none  of  these  exotics  would  answer  in  America. 
There  is  the  pomegranate  tree,  which  thrives  best  in  15°  of 
N.  Lat.  in  East  India,  yet  it  is  grown  all  over  Georgia. 

THE    LIME    TREE. 

This  tree  is  a  kind  of  companion  to  the  guava  and 
orange  trees.  Surely  this  would  do  well  in  America. 
It  yields  most  abundantly  of  fruit ;  and  is  all  over  East 


CITRON,    GOOSEBERRY   AND  NUTMEG  TREES.     155 

India,  under  various  degrees  of  climate,,  in  the  hot 
burning  winds  of  the  North  West  of  India,  or  in  the 
damp  chill,  and,  in  cold  season,  frosty  climate  of  N.  East 
of  India.  Or,  if  this  will  not  satisfy  Americans  that  it 
would  do  well  in  America,  turn  to  the  Russians,  and  ask 
them  from  the  bark  of  what  tree  it  is  they  make  such 
an  amount  of  cordage,  and  they  will  point  out  the  lime 
tree. 

THE    CITRON    TREE. 

This  is  another  companion  to  the  above  three  trees, 
and  is  like  the  others  in  respect  to  soil  and  climate  ;  and 
if  other  trees  be  evergreens,  this  may  be  called  an  ever 
bearing  fruit  tree. 

THE  INDIAN  GOOSEBERRY  TREE. 

This  cannot  be  ranked  among  the  tree  tribe,  nor  hardly 
does  it  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  shrub.  It  is  about  two 
feet  high,  and  yields  a  quantity  of  fruit.  This  gooseberry 
is  a  different  fruit  from  that  of  Europe.  It  is  not  near 
so  tart,  but  is  used  extensively  for  tarts.  It  is  a  pleasant 
fruit  to  eat,  and,  unlike  the  European  gooseberry,  there 
is  no  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  its  use.  It  grows 
wild  in  all  the  Eastern  and  N.  Eastern  parts  of  India, 
and  in  season  the  markets  are  well  supplied  with  it.  It 
is  one  of  the  fruits  that  are  admitted  at  the  dessert  table  in 
India.  It  is  very  easy  to  propagate  it,  to  any  extent. 

THE    NUTMEG    TREE. 

This  has  been  found  grown  wild  in  Assam,  lat.  27°  30" 
and  probably  it  would  succeed  in  higher  latitudes  in 
America ;  all  the  north-eastern  parts  of  India  are  inter- 


156  THE    BAMBOO. 

sected  by  the  Himalaya  range,  and  therefore  the  cold  is 
greater  than  in  the  same  same  latitudes  in  the  north 
west.  The  Himalaya  mountain*  dip  five  degrees  south 
ward  from  west  to  east  side  of  India. 

THE    BAMBOO 

Could  successfully  be  introduced  in  America.  It  is  of 
the  greatest  use  in  India,  and  is  converted  to  various  pur 
poses.  Walking-sticks,  fishing  rods,  bed-frames,  handles 
for  tools,  roofing  for  houses,  sieves,  baskets,  hampers,  &c., 
are  made  of  it.  It  is  also  used  as  vessels  for  carrying 
water  in,  amongst  the  more  savage  races  of  India.  It  is 
made  means  of  to  hold  rice,  tobacco,  salt,  &c.  Of  it 
mats  are  made.  It  is  pickled  ;  and,  though  Jast,  one  of 
the  best,  perhaps  one  of  its  greatest  uses,  in  a  mercantile 
view,  is  the  immense  quantity  of  paper  made  of  it.  The 
soft  parts  of  the  bamboo  are  used  for  pickles,  and 
as  a  vegetable.  The  young  bamboos  are  used  for  making 
paper.  The  following  is  nearly  the  mode  of  manufacture  : 

The  green  bamboo  is  placed  in  a  vat  about  ten  feet 
square,  (it  may  be  larger,)  built  of  brick  and  lime,  and 
from  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  is  allowed  to  soften  in 
the  water  for  several  days.  It  is  then  taken  out,  and 
pounded  until  it  becomes  a  pulp,  from  which  the  coarse 
and  knotty  parts,  &c.  are  carefully  separated.  It  is  then 
mixed  up  with  water  to  the  consistency  necessary  for 
paper.* 

The  bamboo  grows  to  a  great  length,  from  twenty  to 
thirty  feet,  and  the  larger  kind  are  thirteen  to  fifteen 
inches  in  circumference.  The  thickness  of  the  shell  in 

*  The  Chinese  make  coffins  of  the  bamboo,  having  no  other  wood. 


THE  CANE.  157 

such  is  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  giving  a  cavity  of 
three  and  one-third  to  four  and  one-third  inches  in  diameter. 
These  are  the  sizes  generally  of  bamboo  made  use  of  as 
vessels  to  convey  water,  holding  rice,  tobacco,  &c.  They 
are  cut  in  lengths,  for  water  purposes,  of  3|  feet,  and  a  stick 
is  driven  down  to  open  a  communication  between  the  differ 
ent  chambers,  so  that  the  water  may  flow  into  them  all — 
the  bottom  is  always  cut  at  a  joint.  A  man  or  woman  takes 
four  or  six  pieces  of  such  bamboo  to  the  water  side,  and 
fills  them,  then  connects  one  half  to  one  end  of  a  bamboo, 
and  the  other  half  to  the  other  end ;  the  bamboo  is  then 
hoisted  on  the  shoulder,  with  these  vessels  filled  with 
water  hanging  from  each  end  and  balancing  each  other. 
The  Assam ees  and  Tartars,  when  no  other  means  is  at 
hand,  boil  their  rice  in  them,  and  the  Nagas,  at  their  salt 
springs,  make  use  of  them  as  substitutes  for  evaporation 
pans.  Such  are  the  uses  of  the  bamboo. 

THE    CANE. 

This  useful  article  grows  as  a  brier,  and  forms  an 
impenetrable  under-wood,  generally  forty  to  fifty  feet 
long.  The  outer  bark  is  like  that  of  the  brier,  covered 
all  over  with  spires.  It  is  a  bulwark  against  the  wild 
elephant  or  buffalo,  neither  of  whom  can  make  his 
way  through  it.  It  generally  is  the  haunt  of  tigers. 
We  make  use  of  it  every  hour  in  the  day — we  sit  on  it, 
sleep  on  it,  and  devote  it  to  many  other  purposes.  It  is 
an  article  of  great  commercial  value  all  over  the  world, 
and  well  worthy  of  attention.  As  stated,  it  is  an  under 
wood  ;  I  never  saw  it  grow  out  of  the  forest,  and  can  say 
nothing  of  its  cultivation,  if  it  be  cultivated.  The  cane 


158          INDIAN   RUBBER   ANL>   VARNISH   TREES. 

is  very  various  in  its  thickness,  never,  that  I  have  seen, 
exceeding  about  four  to  four  and  a  half  inches  in  circum 

ference. 

% 

THE  INDIAN  RUBBER  TREE 

Grows  to  some  seventy  to  ninety  feet  high,  mmense 
forests  of  it  are  found  on  the  west  side  of  the  Buram- 
pooter,  extending  along  the  Meeree  and  Abor  mountains. 
It  is  a  stately  tree — it  is  said  some  are  100  feet  high. 
The  rubber  from  this  tree  has  not  answered  for  exporting 
from  India.  The  expense  of  making  is  a  mere  trifle  ; 
but,  whether  it  is  owing  to  the  tree  having  been  accustomed 
to  a  colder  climate,  or  from  some  chemical  property  in  the 
rubber,  it  cannot  bear  the  heat  of  a  passage  to  Europe. 
It  becomes  a  fluid  during  the  voyage.  Otherwise,  in  cold 
climates,  it  is  equal  to  other  rubbers. 

THE  KIA  PUTTY,  OR   KAYAPOOTEE  OIL   TREE 

Is  also  a  very  large  tree,  and  yields  its  oil  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  pine  tree  does  the  turpentine.  The  oil  is 
thick  and  is  often  used  by  itself  for  varnish  over  maps. 

THE  BLACK  GUM  VARNISH  TREE 

Is  another  very  large  tree.  The  gum  is  obtained  in 
a  fluid  state,  and  remains  so.  The  Tartars  obtain  it  by 
making  slits  in  the  bark  of  the  tree,  and  then,  filling  it 
into  small  pieces  of  bamboo,  sell  it  for  varnishing  over 
handles  of  their  dahs  (swords).  A  wine-glass-full  sells 
for  8  annas,  or  25  cents %  However,  it  is  more  generally 
bartered  for  rice,  salt,  &c.  Some  idea  may  be  had  of 


JOINT   GRASSES.  159 

its  adhesiveness  from  the  fact  that  the  Tartar  dah  is 
made  use  of,  not  only  .as  a  sword  in  war,  but  also  in 
peace  for  felling  trees  or  cutting  up  firewood.  Conse 
quently  the  friction  on  the  handle  is  very  great — notwith 
standing,  the  gum  adheres  for  years,  except  on  the  edge 
or  end  of  the  handle,  where  the  wood  itself  becomes  less 
or  more  worn.  Even  if  these  three  last  trees  should  not 
become  of  any  great  value  as  articles  of  commerce,  they 
would  be  ornamental — and  it  would  be  difficult  to  say 
what  the  value  really  might  be  without  knowing  fully 
the  quantities  of  milk,  oil,  or  gum  that  each  would  yield, 
and  of  that  I  can  give  no  information.  It  would  be  easy 
to  obtain  a  few  plants,  or  seeds,  or  nuts  of  them. 

JOINT  GRASSES. 

This  is  not  a  grass  that  is  generally  known  in  India. 
I  never  met  with  it  in  the  South,  North-west,  or  in 
Bengal.  It  grows  in  the  Tartar  country ;  generally  in 
the  margins  of  forests,  where  there  may  not  be  too 
much  shade  ;  a  forest  being  partially  cleared,  it  springs 
up  in  places  where  it  perhaps  never  existed  before,  or 
if  it  did,  not  for  centuries  past.  The  grass  will  run 
to  a  length  of  some  fifteen  feet,  and  will  rise,  if  there 
be  any  support,  five  or  six  feet ;  if  not,  it  will  grow  up 
some  three  or  four  feet  by  its  own  support.  It  is  not  a 
wiry  grass — the  joints  are  some  six  or  eight  inches  long, 
with  four  or  five  blades  of  grass  about  the  same  length 
growing  out  from  each  joint.  The  joints  near  the  ground 
are  harder  and  brittle — those  near  the  top  soft  and  juicy — 
with  a  luxuriant  termination  of  soft  blades  similar  to 
those  from  each  joint,  but  are  softer  and  thicker.  On  my 


160  JOINT   GRASSES. 

arrival  in  the  country  I  found  there  were  no  cows,  goats, 
or  sheep.  These  I  introduced,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
quantity  of  gram  upon  which  she«ep  are  fattened  in  East 
India.  After  the  arrival  of  the  cattle  they  declined 
the  gram,  and  I  found  on  inquiry  that  they  had  been 
browsing  on  this  grass,  and  upon  which  they  con 
tinued  to  feed.  They  all  became  as  fat  as  if  fed  on  the 
gram,  (a  kind  of  pulse,)  which  remained  on  hand,  there 
being  no  use  for  it.  This  grass  would  be  valuable  in 
America,  and  should  be  introduced — for  there  is  very 
little  vegetable  in  the  grass  way  in  all  America  that  I  have 
seen ;  and  indeed  I  believe  it  is  frequently  the  case, 
down  to  the  South  especially,  that  a  man  may  have  from 
twenty  to  thirty  cows  and  not  a  drop  of  milk  for  his 
breakfast.  Of  course  there  are  two  causes  for  that ;  the 
first,  the  worst  of  all,  is  idleness  and  bad  management 
combined  ;  the  second  is  the  scarcity  of  vegetation,  or 
fodder. 

Beyond  the  introduction  of  this  grass,  it  will  be  well 
to  suggest  to  Americans  generally  the  great  facilities  to 
introduce  a  great  variety  of  grains  and  pulses  required 
in  America,  from  other  countries.  I  will  here  name 
some  that  seem  to  be  worthy  of  attention,  and  may  lead 
to  further  inquiry  for  others  : 

Of  Cereals,  there  are  a  great  variety  of  millets  and 
small  grains — and  several  kinds  of  wheat  and  rice. 

Of  Pulses,  Indian  gram  and  dholl  would  be  valuable. 

Of  Oil  Seeds,  the  sesamum,  mustard-seed,  &c.  There 
are  upwards  of  twenty  articles  from  which  the  Indians 
extract  oil. 


ELEPHANT   MUKNA.  161 


ELEPHANT    MUKNA. 


The  sheep  of  India  would  do  better  for  the  hotter 
parts  of  the  United  States,  where  wool  could  not  be 
raised,  than  sheep  of  colder  climates.  Wool  of  Indian 
sheep  is  coarse,  somewhat  like  an  African's  hair. 

Camels  would  be  very  useful,  and  I  believe  would  do 
well  in  America,  at  least  in  the  Southern  States.  Ele 
phants,  except  in  wet,  marshy  countries,  without  roads, 
are  not  very  useful.  They  are  slow.  Twenty-six  miles 
would  be  a  long  day's  journey  for  an  elephant.  How 
ever,  both  camels  and  elephants  could  be  introduced  when 
of  a  very  small  size. 

Under  this  head  I  may,  perhaps,  show  some  kind  re 
membrance  of  two  pets  I  had  in  the  far  East. 

The  one  was  an  elephant  called  u  Mukna."'  On  my 
first  arrival,  the  Governor  of  the  North  East  frontier 
purchased  two  elephants  for  me.  After  the  purchase  he 
became  aware  that  the  larger  of  the  two  was  a  fierce  ani 
mal,  and  had  killed  two  men,  and  told  me  that  such  was 
the  case.  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  elephant  he  made  a  dart 
at  me,  to  lay  hold  of  me,  which  gave  me  an  itching  to 
tease  him ;  which  I  generally  did  by  pointing  my  finger, 
or  a  stick,  at  his  face,  always  standing  at  a  safe  dis 
tance,  with  my  friend  well  tied  up.  However,  I  never 
admitted  the  mahouts  (keepers)  to  steal  the  elephants' 
rice,  and  always  stood  by  to  see  them  fed  ;  and  I  believe 
they  knew  that  was  the  case,  for  as  soon  as  they  saw  me 
there  was  great  excitement,  and  a  sharp  lookout  for  their 
food.  Sometimes  I  would  feed  my  friend,  and  then  he 
could  be  docile  to  me  ;  but  otherwise,  he  invariably  made 

*  Mukna  is  a  general  nnme  for  elephants  that  have  not  large  tusks. 


162  ELEPHANT  MUKNA. 

the  same  dart  at  me  to  lay  hold  of  me.  Being  amongst 
a  lawless  people,  I  was  frequently  attacked  by  them  in 
great  numbers  in  travelling  through  the  country ;  then 
my  elephant  stood  my  friend.  When  hemmed  in  on  all 
sides,  I  placed  Mukna,  whom  I  rode,  at  the  head  of  the 
other  elephants,  and  bore  down  on  the  leader  of  the 
savages.  The  elephants  took  a  pleasure  in  rushing  on 
them  in  all  their  fury,  with  tails  up  and  trumpet  (pro 
boscis)  sounding.  Mukna  universally  carried  me  belter 
skelter  into  their  midst,  and  kept  up  pursuit.  Once,  about 
150  men  surrounded  my  elephants  ;  I  had  six ;  they 
were  all  captured  but  Mukna,  on  whom  I  was  riding 
some  distance  in  advance.  I  had  no  arms  but  a  sword, 
and  was  in  some  doubt  what  to  do ;  whether  to  run  for 
it  or  make  an  attack.  However,  I  was  not  long  con 
sidering  the  matter  ;  one  of  the  savages  hurt  the  com 
panion  elephant  of  Mukna,  and  made  it  sound  its  trumpet; 
when  Mukna  rushed  to  the  charge,  regardless  of-  rider  or 
driver.  The  pikes  of  the  attacking  party  I  beat  aside 
with  my  sword,  and  managed  to  reach  the  other  elephants. 
Mukna  made  a  rush,  and  scattered  the  captors  of  his 
companion  ;  and  with  the  two  elephants  I  then  faced  the 
whole  party,  soon  recovered  the  others,  and  the  people 
were  scattered  everywhere.  One  of  them  gave  Mukna  a 
stab  on  the  side  ;  it  made  him  trumpet,  and  I  feared  he 
was  severely  wounded.  I  gave  chase  to  the  man,  feeling 
every  resolve  to  punish  him  if  I  could  get  at  him.  He 
escaped  into  the  village  and  into  one  of  the  houses. 
Mukna  soon  laid  hold  of  the  wood  frame  work,  and  shook 
it  down  ;  and  one  by  one,  as  the  elephants  arrived,  they 
commenced  at  the  same  work,  until  the  whole  village  was 
destroyed.  At  last,  through  the  aid  of  Mukna,  I  sue- 


ELEPHANT   MUKNA.  163 

ceeded  in  making  the  savages  have  some  respect  for  me. 
Sometime  after  this  occurrence,  I  had  been  teasing  him 
after  feeding  him;  some  ryots  (farmers)  came  up  to 
speak  to  me  about  some  lands ;  I  turned  my  back  on 
the  elephant,  (he  was  tied  up,  and  could  not  reach  me). 
Soon  after  I  got  a  stunning  blow,  and  thought  the  ryots 
made  an  attack  on  me.  As  soon  as  I  recovered,  I 
turned  round  on  my  supposed  assailants,  when,  to  my 
surprise,  I  found  Mukna  had  taken  up  a  long  piece  of 
bamboo,  and  whirled  it  round  with  his  proboscis,  arid 
struck  me  along  the  side  of  the  head.  He  seemed  to  be 
quite  delighted,  and  carefully  laid  his  bamboo  along  side 
of  him,  and  when  I  attempted  to  approach,  he  laid  his 
proboscis  on  it,  as  much  as  to  say,  here  it  is.  One  day 
while  I  was  travelling  over  some  rugged  hills,  150  to 
300  feet  high,  a  large  tree  fell  across  the  pathway ;  Mukna 
got  across  it  at  his  ease ;  he  was  the  largest  elephant  in 
the  country.  However,  when  his  companion  came  to  it, 
she  managed  to  get  the  fore  legs  over,  but  her  hind  ones 
she  could  not  raise,  nor  could  she  raise  the  fore  legs  to 
go  back.  She  was  in  despair  of  working  herself  out  of 
the  predicament,  and  trumpeted  ;  Mukna  at  once  turned 
back,  and  at  my  desire  the  driver  left  him  to  himself. 
He  got  over  the  tree  again,  placed  his  head  to  the  rump 
of  his  companion,  and  raised  her  hind  part  over  the  trunk 
of  the  tree.  After  many  and  faithful  services,  and  nar 
row  escapes,  poor  Mukna  was  poisoned  by  the  Tartars. 
I  let  him  loose  one  morning  after  feeding  him  ;  a 
while  afterwards  he  returned  to  the  house,  and  came 
to  the  door  and  gave  a  low  trumpet ;  I  went  out,  and  he 
walked  up  quietly  to  me  ;  I  laid  my  hand  on  his  head,  I 
could  not  make  out  what  was  amiss  with  him.  He  laid 


164  KI  AM— OOLONG. 

down,  and  fifteen  minutes  afterwards  was  dead.  I 
buried  him  deep  where  he  died,  sooner  than  have  the  poor 
animal  dragged  by  the  other  ^lephants  ;  but  in  a  few 
days  I  was  obliged  to  decamp  from  the  fumes  exuding 
from  the  earth.  Some  ten  months  afterwards  I  sent  a 
party  to  take  up  his  bones  for  a  skeleton,  but  there  was 
even  then  so  much  of  the  flesh  undecayed,  I  was  obliged 
to  give  up  the  work.  A  few  months  after  I  was  attacked 
by  the  Tartars,  and  several  of  my  people  killed,  as  al 
ready  shown. 

Another  extraordinary  pet  I  had  was  a  blue  bird 
called  "  Porphiro,"  and  in  that  country  "  Kiarn."  Some 
of  the  same  kind  are  in  the  Washington  Museum .  Kiam 
acted  a  faithful  watch-keeper,  and  in  the  early  mornings 
used  to  get  into  bed  with  me,  and  in  getting  under  the 
clothes,  would  take  a  nap.  He  was  a  great  favorite 
with  the  servants,  and  from  his  curious  strutting,  used 
to  afford  them  a  great  deal  of  amusement.  I  mention 
these  matters  simply  to  show  a  few  traits  of  the  ele 
phant  and  of  the  kiam  ;  and  would  wish  to  dwell  upon 
this  subject,  but  space  will  not  admit  of  my  doing  so. 

The  feathered  tribe,  that  is,  the  game  kind,  are  very 
numerous.  Oolongs  are  perhaps  the  least  known  ;  they 
are  very  shy,  and  seldom  or  ever  shot.  They  are  as 
gross  as  geese  in  body,  and  stand  in  height,  four  feet. 
There  are  many  kinds  of  fowls  ;  the  species  of  duck  can 
not  be  less  than  a  score.  Most  of  the  pheasants  could  be 
domesticated.  The  flesh  of  the  oolong  is  the  finest 
flavored  of  any  of  the  birds  I  have  met  with. 

Fish  is  almost  as  numerous  as  insects  in  India.  Every 
small  pool  of  water  contains  fish  of  an  excellent  kind, 


HATCHING   FISH.  165 

and  weighing  two  to  five  pounds'  weight.  It  is  sur 
prising  to  find  fishes  where  they  are  to  be  found  in  India. 
I  have  seen  the  natives  in  the  North  East  of  India,  both 
to  my  surprise  and  amazement,  dig  fish  out  of  the  earth. 
The  fish  is  called  "  earth  fish,"  "  Zeemenka  mutchee," 
of  about  five  to  seven  inches  in  length,  flat,  and  black  in 
color,  flesh  hard,  and  in  flavor  somewhat  like  an  eel. 

I  will  give  here,  in  hopes  some  enterprising  gentleman 
may  try  the  experiment,  an  account  of  the  manner  of 
the  Chinese  hatching  fish,  from  Mr.  Martin's  work. 

"Hatching  eggs  by  artificial  heat  is  well  known  and 
extensively  practiced  in  China  ;  as  is,  also,  the  hatching 
of  fish.  The  sale  of  spawn  for  this  purpose  forms  an 
important  branch  of  trade  in  China.  The  fisherman 
collects  with  care  on  the  margin  and  surface  of  water,  all 
the  gelatinous  matters  that  contain  spawn  of  fish,  which 
is  then  placed  in  an  egg  shell,  which  has  been  fresh 
emptied,  through  a  small  hole,  which  is  then  stopped,  and 
the  shell  is  then  placed  under  a  setting  fowl.  In  a  few 
days,  the  Chinese  break  the  shell  in  warm  water  (warmed 
by  the  sun) ;  the  young  fish  are  then  kept  in  water  until 
they  are  large  enough  to  be  placed  in  a  pond.  This 
plan,  in  some  measure,  counteracts  the  great  destruction 
of  spawn  by  troll-nets,  which  have  caused  the  extinction 
of  many  fisheries." 

This  art  carried  out  would  be  most  valuable  to  all 
countries,  and  would  be  a  means  of  making  the  water 
equally,  if  not  more,  productive  for  means  of  support 
than  land  ;  for,  by  such  art,  every  piece  of  water  might 
be  filled  with  fish. 


(Dpium 


IN  entering  on  this  subject,  I  fear  I  shall  have  to  re 
present  a  picture  of  misery  more  extensive  a  ad  more 
astounding,  than  has  ever  been  heretofore  set  forth  in  the 
annals  of  history.  Were  it  a  trade  in  human  flesh,  it 
might  be  to  redeem  the  negro  from  the  darkness  of 
paganism,  and  to  establish  him  through  Christianity 
in  the  brightness  of  Eternal  Glory.  It  might  be  the 
means  of  redeeming  him  from  being  sacrificed  at  a  feast 
or  a  wedding  to  the  atrocity  of  his  capturer,  or  being 
quartered  before  some  hideous  figure  representing  some 
monster,  or  some  monstrous  idea  of  the  Creator.  All 
these  services  might  spring  and  do  spring  from  slavery, 
but  it  is  not  a  good  way  to  eifect  reform.  Still  slavery 
could  point  to  many  fair  and  bright  spots,  to  redeem  it 
in  a  manner  in  the  minds  of  the  justly  reflecting  man. 
But  opium  trade — alas,  there  is  no  one  bright  spot,  no 
one  redeeming  virtue  can  be  found  in  the  whole  course  of 
its  man-devouring,  hellish  course.  You,  oh  Americans  ! 
would  rend  your  States  into  petty  governments  and 
principalities,  upon  the  subject  of  some  three  millions  of 
slaves,  well  clothed,  well  fed,  and  converted  from  pagan 
ism — simply  because  they  bear  the  name  of  "slaves." 
But  here,  this  ruffian  trade  sends  more  than  that 


THE    OPIUM   TRADE.  167 

number  yearly  to  a  premature  grave,  and  destroys  in 
man's  loins  that  procreative  seed,  from  which  would 
spring  into  birth  a  great  number  more. 

England,  whatever  my  attachment  may  be  to  some  of 
your  citizens  individually,  I  must  here  represent  yours 
as  one  of  the  worst  governments  that  ever  cursed  the 
human  race.  And  I  here  state  before  God  and  man, 
that  you  murder  and  destroy  more  people  than  all  the 
governments  or  nations  over  the  face  of  the  earth  put 
together ;  that  your  government  is  a  stigma  and  shame 
to  every  white  man,  and  that  it  is  the  scourge  of  the 
weak  and  powerless — a  government,  oh,  England  !  that 
is  bringing  a  curse  upon  yourselves. 

The  first  assertion  that  an  apologist  for  this  trade 
would  make,  and  which  England  makes,  is  that  China  is 
satisfied,  or  they  would  not  buy  opium.  I  will  simply 
give  the  following  memorandum  of  the  Chinese  govern 
ment  acts  to  save  their  people,  and  all  may  then  judge  of 
its  truthfulness ;  and  it  might  as  well  be  said,  that  the 
father  was  satisfied  with  the  gambling-house,  the  brothel, 
and  grog  shop,  because  his  infatuated  son,  over  whom  he 
had  lost  all  control,  frequented  them. 

In  1800,  the  Emperor  of  China  prohibited  the  impor 
tation  of  opium  into  the  Empire,  and  death  and  con 
fiscation  of  property  were  decreed  against  all  retailers  or 
cultivators  of  it. 

In  1809,  under  the  Emperor  Kea-king,  the  Hong 
merchants  were  required  to  give  bonds  of  security,  that 
all -ships  discharging  cargo  had  no  opium  on  board. 

In  1815  the  Emperor  directed  that  the  laws  should  be 
rigorously  enforced  against  natives  dealing  in  opium. 


168  THE   OPIUM   TRADE. 

In  1820  a  prohibitory  proclamation  was  issued  against 
opium. 

In  1831  another  law  was  enacted,  to  flog  and  transport 
those  who  refused  to  point  out  the  seller  of  opium. 

In  1832  an  order  was  again  issued  against  the  im 
portation  of  opium. 

In  1834  the  order  was  re-published. 

In  183T  an  order  was  issued  to  send  away  to  their  own 
country  all  "  opium  warehousing  ships."  The  same  order 
was  issued  again  in  the  same  year. 

In  1838  a  China  man  was  sentenced  and  strangled  in 
face  of  the  English  factors  at  Canton,  for  trading  in 
opium. 

In  1839  full  power  was  given  to  Commissioner  Lin,  to 
suppress  the  opium  smuggling. 

In  1849  20,238  cnests  of  opium  were  forcibly  taken 
from  the  English,  who  then  signed  a  bond  in  which 
they  solemly  bound  themselves  for  ever,  not  to  introduce 
opium  into  China.  The  whole  of  the  above  opium  was, 
before  English  witnesses,  mixed  up  with  lime,  salt,  and 
water,  and  so  destroyed  ;  its  value,  some  $6,000,000, 
valuing  at  $300  per  chest. 

For  this  noble  act  of  the  Chinese  against  smugglers,  the 
English  government  declared  an  unholy  war  against 
China,  of  which  all  know  the  history.  But  have  any 
reflected  on  that  war,  made  on  a  virtuous  government,  at 
least  upon  a  government  that  was  acting  nobly  in  defence 
and  protection  of  its  subjects  from  demoralizing  con 
taminations  1  England  made  war  on  China,  because  she 
dared  to  attempt  to  put  down  smuggling  into  her  own 
country. 

That  is  the  country  that  cheers  a  Kossuth,  for  making 


THE   OPIUM   TKA1>E.  169 

war  against  the  wrongs  of  Austria.  That  is  the  country, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  protects  the  violators  of  the  laws 
of  nations,  the  laws  of  humanity,  and  the  dictates  of 
honesty.  She  supports  Kossuth  by  her  empty  cheers, 
because  it  creates  a  little  political  capital ;  it  will  give 
Austria,  &c.  more  to  do  at  home,  and  she  will  be  the  more 
free  to  carry  on  as  she  pleases  abroad  ;  and  she  would  also 
ensnare  America  into  hostility  to  Austria  and  Russia, 
and  forsooth  all  that  is — humanity  !  Oh,  Americans, 
look  to  China,  and  see  some  three  millions  of  souls  drop 
ping  year  after  year  into  the  grave,  the  victims  of  opium. 
And,  behold  the  price  of  England's  inhumanity  for  the 
wholesale  destruction  of  that  hecatomb,  some  45,000,000 
dollars  yearly — that  is  the  price  of  the  blood  of  millions 
of  Chinese  destroyed  year  after  year,  by  some  60,000  to 
70,000  chests  of  opium,  or  8,010,000  Ibs.  to  9,345,000  Ibs. 
of  a  deadly  poison. 

I  will  insert  the  progress  of  the  increase  of  opium, 
and  will  afterwards  show  that  the  more  it  yields  the 
British  East  India  Company  the  more  that  Government 
squeezes  all  parties  ;  for  that  Government  derives  all  the 
profit,  with  the  exception  of  that  which  is  made  by  the 
smugglers,  its  tools,  which  is  of  no  great  amount  com 
paratively,  and  is  divided  between  afe\v  mercantile  houses 
in  China.  Yardine,  Matheson,  &  Co.,  the  principal  pur 
chasers,  are  supposed  to  have  realized  £3,900,000  in 
tw en ty  years.  The  other  six  houses  concerned  in  the 
trade  probably  may  make  twice  as  much  more.  It  would 
give  <£9,000,000  in  twenty  years.  This  sum  would  be 
only  equal  to  one  year's  sale.  Opium  shipped  to  China 
from  East  India  for  following  years  is  : — 


8 


170  THE   OPIUM   TRADE. 

Bengal  Opium.  Malwa  Opium. 

Chests.  Chests. 

1820,                               3,591  .         -               2,278 

'30,                              7,443  12,856 

'35,                             14,851  12,933 

'40,                            18,965  18,321 

'45,                            21,457  20,660 

'46,                            20,000  19,063 

'47,                            21,650  20,523 

'48,                            28,000  17,490 

'49,                            36,000  -             18,532 

But  this  is  not  the  whole  of  the  opium ;  it  is  only  a  part 
of  that  from  Malwa,  which  passes  through  Bombay  under 
&pass  from  Government  (British  East  India  Company), 
and  that  which  is  sold  at  Calcutta  for  the  China  market, 
and  for  which  express  stipulations  are  made  by  the  British 
E.  I.  Government  that  the  opium  is  to  be  shipped  for 
China ;  because,  if  retained  in  India  and  sold  there,  it 
would  be  interfering  with  another  abomination  of  theirs, 
to  raise  money,  viz. — the  establishment  of  opium  smoking 
shops  in  their  own  dominions.  To  the  keepers  of  these 
shops  Government  retails  any  quantity  of  opium  at  more 
profitable  rates. 

Nor  are  the  above  amounts,  as  returned,  correct,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  evidence  before  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  of  1847,  on  commercial  relations  with  China, 
of  F.  W.  Prideaux,  Examiner  of  the  East  India  House, 
in  which  he  stated  that  the  amount  of  Bombay  opium  for 
1844^5,  was  29,593  chests,  instead  of  20,660  given  in 
the  above  table  ;  and  for  1845-46,  it  was  stated  by  opium 
officers  that  there  were  30,000  chests,  instead  of  19,063 
returned;  therefore,  it  is  pretty  clear  that  the  true 
amount  of  that  drug  is  concealed.  However,  it  is  shown 


THE    OPIUM    TRADE.  171 

by  such  returns  that  54,532  chests  of  opium,  containing 
one  pecul,  or  ISSa  Ibs.  each,  were  sold  in  China  in 
1849.  Say  price  in  Calcutta  1100  rupees,  or  550  dollars, 
sale  price  in  China  say  600  dollars— 32,719,200  dollars. 
The  import  of  opium  into  China  is  shown  to  be 
more,  by  the  evidence  of  Government  itself,  than 
is  stated  in  the  above  returns,  taken  from  the  tables 
of  the  Parliamentary  Committee,  and  from  the  "  China 
Overland  Mail."  Beyond  that  amount,  there  is  that 
of  the  consumption  in  India.  The  East  India  Com 
pany's  Examiner  says,  in  his  evidence  :  "  The  value  of 
the  opium  exported  from  India  in  each  year  (1844 
and  ?45)  must  be  from  five  to  six  millions  sterling." 
It  is  now  increased,  at  the  lowest  calculation,  100 
per  cent,  so  it  may  be  said  it  now  reaches  ^£10,000,000 
to  £12,000,000  sterling.  And  there  is  the  secret 
that  neither  honesty,  humanity,  nor  the  most  solemn 
treaties,  has  power  to  restrain  the  cupidity  of  a  Govern 
ment,  placed  over  200,000,000  inhabitants,  and  that 
awes  some  500,000,000  of  Chinese  into  submission  to 
the  most  unjust  trade  that  ever  disgraced  any  nation, 

THE  EVILS  OF  OPIUM. 

IF  I  were  simply  to  give  my  own  evidence  on  the  sub 
ject,  it  might  be  held  in  suspicion ;  or,  were  I  only  to 
give  the  evidence  of  parties  opposed  to  the  trade,  it  might 
be  said  it  was  only  a  morbid  sensibility  of  a  party  desir 
ous  to  put  down  the  interest  of  another  party  whom,  in 
their  enmity,  they  call  "  smugglers."  I  will  state  a  few 
instances  of  the  evil  of  this  drug  that  I  have  personally 
witnessed. 


172  THE    OPIUM    TRADE. 

The  first  and  greatest  evil  is,  that  it  exterminates  the 
human  race.  Opium  is  put  down,  used  moderately,  as 
aphrodisiacal,  and  hence  it  is  reasoned  the  cause  of  the 
wretched  women  who  assemble  round  the  opium  smoking 
shop.  Of  this  I  have  no  knowledge  ;  but  there  is  no  dis 
ease  in  the  North-east  of  India  so  dreadful  as  that  for 
which  it  is  said  to  be  a  cure,  or  is  so  very  common 
amongst  the  people.  The  opium  eater  is  a  lost  man, 
from  his  first  initiation  into  the  habit  of  smoking  or  drink 
ing  opium.  If  he  commences  early  in  life,  he  never 
marries — if  he  commences  at  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
he  never  has  more  than  one  or  two  children — if  he  com 
mences  it  one  or  two  years  before  marriage,  it  is  rarely 
there  is  ever  a  child,  and  if  there  be  a  child,  it  is  owing 
to  a  very  moderate  use  having  been  made  of  the  opium, 
arising  from  the  want  of  means  to  purchase  it,  or  other 
causes  that  may  place  it  out  of  reach  ;  therefore,  opium 
is  detrimental,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  propagation  of 
the  human  species.  In  the  next  place,  those  who  indulge 
freely  in  its  use  live  but  a  short  time. 

It  is  melancholy  to  travel  through  a  country  where 
opium  is  used  ;  in  every  part  there  is  the  foot-prints  of 
man ;  there  are  the  few  orange  trees  and  guava  trees,  &e. 
where  once  was  the  cultivated  garden,  and  no  trace  other 
wise  of  man  than  the  rich  weeds  and  grass  that  spring 
up  from  the  land  manured  by  a  decayed  fallen  house,  lu 
the  places  where  villages  were,  are  marks  where  houses 
had  been  ;  others  partly  fallen  in,  and  green  fungi  grow 
ing  all  about.  The  poultry,  now  wild,  still  haunt  round 
the  place.  Again,  another  village  may  be  met  with  a 
few  solitary  houses  remaining,  with  some  twenty  to  thirty 
women,  two  to  five  children,  varying  from  one  year  of  age 


THE   OPIUM   TKADE.  173 

to  ten,  a  few  young  girls,  and  the  remainder  women, 
varying  from  thirty  fo  fifty  years  of  age — all  miserable 
and  squalid — and  perhaps  there  might  be  one  or  two 
males.  In  other  villages  again,  there  are  more  inhabit 
ants  and  new  houses  added,  but  it  is  owing  to  the  rem 
nants  of  other  villages  resorting  there  from  the  ruins  of 
their  own,  and  the  advance  of  the  forest.  This  is  the 
condition  to  which  opium  reduces  a  country,  and,  as  in  the 
valley  of  Assam,  so  it  is  in  the  Tartar  country  to  nearly  an 
equal  degree  of  desolation.  Such  has  been  the  result  of 
the  use  of  opium  as  witnessed  by  myself.  I  will  now 
give  the  experience  of  parties  interested  in  the  trade  or 
otherwise. 

Mr.  Martin,  one  of  her  Majesty's  treasurers  in  China, 
represents  the  use  of  opium  as  follows  :  "  The  continued 
action  of  opium  as  a  sensual  stimulant  tends  rapidly  to 
the  wasting  of  youth,  health,  strength,  and  beauty ; 
those  who  begin  its  use  at  twenty  may  expect  to  die  at 
thirty  years  of  age.  The  countenance  becomes  pallid  ; 
the  eyes  assume  a  wild  brightness,  and  memory  fails,  the 
gait  totters,  mental  exertions  and  moral  courage  sink, 
and  frightful  marasmus  or  atrophy  reduces  the  victim  to 
a  ghastly  spectacle,  who  has  ceased  to  live  before  he  has 
ceased  to  exist." 

W.  Hamilton  Lindsay,  Esq.  M.  P.,  says  :  "  As  it  IP, 
nothing  can  be  more  injurious  to  the  British  character 
than  the  mode  in  which  the  opium  trade  is  at  present 
conducted.  It  is  now  real  smuggling  accompanied  by  all 
its  worst  features  of  violence." 

Captain  Elliott,  late  her  Majesty's  superintendent  in 
China,  says  :  u  It  is  intensely  mischievous  to  every 
branch  of  the  trade ;  that  it  is  rapidly  staining  the 
British  character  with  deep  disgrace." 


174  THE   OPIUM   TRADE. 

Sir  John  Hobhouse,  President  of  the  Board  of  Control, 
said  in  Parliament :  "he  could  not  but  deprecate  it  as  a 
vice,  for  a  great  vice  it  was." 

Lord  Sandon  said :  "  It  is  a  disgrace  to  a  Christian 
country,  to  carry  on  the  opium  trade  as  we  have  done." 

Mr.  Squire,  agent  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
said  of  the  opium  shops  :  "  Never,  perhaps,  was  there  a 
nearer  approach  to  hell  upon  earth,  than  within  the  pre 
cincts  of  these  vile  hovels.  Truly  it  is  an  engine  in 
Satan's  hands,  and  a  powerful  one  ;  but  let  it  never  be 
forgotten  that  a  nation  professing  Christianity  supplies 
the  means  ;  and  further,  that  that  nation  is  England." 

Rev.  Howard  Malcom,  of  the  United  States,  said  : 
"  The  great  blot  on  foreigners  at  Canton,  though  not  all, 
is  the  opium  trade.  No  person  can  describe  the  horrors 
of  the  opium  trade.  That  the  government  of  British 
India  should  be  the  prime  abettors  of  this  abominable 
traffic  is  one  of  the  great  wonders  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury.  The  proud  escutcheon  of  the  nation  that  declaims 
against  the  slave  is  thus  made  to  bear  a  blot  broader  and 
darker  than  any  other  in  the  Christian  world." 

I  will  give  the  following  extracts  from  a  table  given  by 
Mr.  Martin  in  his  work  on  China,  to  show  the  number 
of  smokers.  Mr.  Martin  has  made  up  the  table  to  1835  ; 
I  will  continue  it  up  to  1849  : 

Total  chests  of  Opium.     Total  candareens.     Smokers,  at  3  cands.  per  day. 

1820  -  4,287  -  400,440,000  365,699 

1823  -  5,073  -  505,000,000  461.187 

1826  -  8,452  894,160,000  816,584 

1829  -  11,080  -  1,132,800,000  1,034,520 

1832  -  15,662  -  1,615,920,000  1,475,726 

1835  -  21,677  -  2,233,800,000  2,039,998 

1840  -  42,117  -  4,195.760,000  3,831,744 


THE   OPIUM   TRADE.  175 

Total  chests  of  Opium.     Total  candareens.         Smokers,  at  3  cands.  per  day. 

1845  -  37,286  -  3,325,720,000  3,037,190 

1846  -  39,063  -  3,887,560,000  3,550,283 

1847  -  42,179  -  4,194,760,000  3,830,000 

1848  -  45,490  -  4,338,800,000  3,971,507 

1849  -  54,532  -  5,103,840,000  4,661,041 

I  have  followed  this  calculation  in  the  same  manner  as 
Mr.  Martin  did,  viz :  one  chest  of  opium  contains  100 
catties.  The  Patna  and  Benares  opium  contained  800 
candareens  per  cattle,  of  pure  extract,  at  fifty  touch, 
and  the  Malwa  opium,  1200  candareens  per  cattie,  of 
pure  extract,  at  seventy-five  touch.  Three  candareens 
are  equal  to  171  grains — the  quantity  each  opium  smoker 
consumes  per  diem. 

Therefore,  the  above  table  shows,  to  use  the  expres 
sion  of  Mr.  Lay,  one  of  her  Majesty's  consuls,  that  Eng 
land,  humane,  liberal  England,  hamstrings  4,661,041 
Chinese  yearly,  and  when  we  consider  that  these  only 
live  some  seven  or  eight  years, — the  3,831,744  that  were 
the  consumers  of  opium  in  1840  having  dropped  off  by  the 
year  1850— and  the  3,037,190  of  1845,  will  drop  off  by 
1855,  and  each  succeeding  year  millions  will  drop  off, 
and  infatuated  millions  will  fill  up  their  place.  Oh  that 
China  was  become  bankrupt  th£t  she  might  be  saved  ! 

It  is  hard  to  give  credence  to  this,  that  any  Christian 
nation  could,  for  the  sake  of  money,  be  such  wholesale 
butchers ;  but,  above  are  the  figures  ;  give  any  man  in 
this  country  at  the  rate  of  17f  grains  of  pure  extract  of 
opium  a  day  and  how  long  will  he  live  ?  It,  of  course, 
does  not  follow  that  every  man  who  uses  this  drug  takes 
17§  grains  in  the  day  ;  at  the  commencement  it  is 
always  less,  but,  to  the  end,  it  is  more  than  that.  No 


176  THE   OPIUM   TRADE. 

smoker  of  a  year  or  t^YO  standing,  "will  do  aught  in  the 
morning  until  he  either  gets  his  opium  pipe,  or  his  opium 
diluted  in  water  to  drink.  And  w4ien  he  is  in  the  habit 
of  using  it  for  three  or  four  years,  he  has  no  power  over 
Ids  body,  and  his  spirits  are  in  that  state  of  depression, 
that  a  man  on  the  moment  of  preparing  for  public  execu 
tion  could  not  be  more  mentally  prostrate. 

Is  this  generous  England,  so  intermeddling  in  the  do 
mestic  affairs  of  foreign  nations,  prying  into  their  prisons, 
to  get  some  loop-hole  to  make  an  empty  parade  of  her 
good  will  towards  the  oppressed  ?  Alas,  there  is  nothing  in 
all  that  but  to  blindfold.  Think  that  a  nation  that  can 
for  some  45,000,000  of  dollars  of  blood-money  send  yearly 
a  hecatomb  of  three  to  four  millions  of  souls  prematurely 
to  their  grave^  is  humane  !  Nor  does  this  accursed  poison 
ing  trade  stop  in  China  only  !  Alas,  no  ;  England  has 
nearly  200,000,000  of  subjects  in  East  India,  amongst 
whom  she  is  pushing  the  same  vile  trade,  and  viler  and 
more  basely  still  in  stooping  to  retail  this  drug  of  hell  by 
pounds  and  half  pounds,  to  smoking  shop-keepers, 
licensed  by  them,  and  that  never  existed  before  this 
morbid  craving  after  money  suggested  it  to  them,  so  that 
in  East  India  the  government  are  the  tempters  of  the 
people  into  a  vice  they  say  they  are  not  accountable  for 
in  China.  China,  India,  Java,  and  all  eastern  countries, 
will  be  exterminated  by  a  few  millions  of  people  styling 
themselves  Anglo-Saxons,  because  nations  and  people 
will  not  inquire  into  the  state  and  condition  of  that  peo 
ple,  who  are  beginning  even  now  to  waste  away  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  themselves — as  is  seen  in  the  last 
decade,  although  the  starving  Irish  raised  the  population 
of  most  of  her  large  towns  in  England,  as  that  of  Liver- 


THE    OPIUM    TRADE.  177 

pool  for  instance,  to  50  per  cent,  shows  only  a  miserable 
increase  of  11  per  cent,  which  is  made  up  of  Irish  and 
other  races.  That  country,  which  is  existing  upon  the 
prestige  of  her  name  earned  for  her  by  the  unfortunate, 
crushed  Irish,  is  now  ready  to  topple  over  herself.  She 
has  no  more  Irish  to  fall  back  on  in  case  of  emergenc  \'  : 
in  the  last  decade  they  gloated  in  the  extermination  of 
millions  of  that  generous  people ;  she,  through  her 
blinded  bigotry,  insulted  the  suffering  remnant  by  malig 
nant  penal  laws  to  deprive  the  people's  clergy,  not  of 
their  titles  only,  but  of  the  power  to  ordain  further  any 
clergy  at  all — she  dare  not  put  that  act  into  execution. 
Let  her  now  meet  the  enemy  in  the  field,  and  she  will 
find  that  she  has  dried  up  her  resources,  that  she  has  by 
her  injustice  and  cruelty,  scorpion-like,  turned  her  own 
sting  on  herself — and  I  believe  the  remnant  of  the  Irish 
yet  in  Ireland  and  in  England,  and  descendants  of  Irish, 
would  be  found  to  equal  the  whole  number  of  that  Saxon 
race  that  is  now  working  in  the  world  so  fearful  an  amount 
of  wrongs,  and  that  the  Celtic  race  all  over  the  world, 
is  as  two  to  one  of  the  Saxon — but  more  of  this  at  another 
time. 

EFFECT    OF    OPIUM    ON    TRADE. 

If  merchants  will  consider  China  in  her  greatness,  and 
cast  away  all  that  prejudice  arising  from  the  misrepre 
sentations  of  English  writers  whose  policy  is  ever  to 
blacken  the  characters  of  those  they  oppress.  If  a  mur 
der  be  committed  in  Ireland  by  an  unfortunate,  outraged 
tenant,  who,  with  his  wife  and  family,  is  driven  from 
house  and  home  into  the  ditch  at  the  road-side  ;  if  that 
unfortunate  man,  maddened  to  see  all  that  is  dear  to  his 
8* 


178  THE   OPIUM   TRADE. 

heart  famishing  in  that  ditch,  be  driven  to  a  step  of  dire 
revenge,  and  shoots  the  author  of  his  wrongs,  it  is  not 
that  miserable  wretch  who  commits  the  murder,  oh  no, 
it  is  the  IRISH  !  Of  the  numerous  murders  committed  in 
England  we  hear  little — but,  when  they  are  commented 
on,  it  is  the  individual  who  committed  the  murder,  and 
not  the  English.  In  like  manner,  are  the  Chinese  mis 
represented.  But  for  an  account  of  that  people  I  appeal 
to  the  French  nation,  who  are  alone  acquainted  with 
their  histories  and  writings,  and  have  a  friendly  inter 
course  with  them.  There  are  none  of  the  Eastern  races 
so  docile,  so  cleanly,  and  industrious  as  the  Chinese — 
and  none  carry  improvements  so  far,  wherever  they  mi 
grate.  Rarely,  or  ever,  is  a  Chinaman  found,  of  the 
great  number  of  them  in  Calcutta,  before  a  criminal  court 
of  justice ;  and  even  before  they  would  take  another  be 
fore  the  courts,  they  would  forgive  him  the  offence  he 
committed  against  them,  or  rescind  the  debt  that  might 
be  due  to  them,  although  they  are  but  shoe-makers  gen 
erally,  who  are  in  that  city. 

The  population  of  China  in  1812  was  361,000,000  of 
inhabitants.  Say  the  increase  since  in  each  decade  is  ten 
per  cent,  and  say  four  decades,  or  forty  years,  up  to  1852, 
it  would  give  her  537,320,700  of  souls.  They  require 
clothing  of  all  kinds,  cotton  and  woollens  ;  they  require 
rice,  wheat,  flour,  &c.  They  hardly  have  any  timber 
to  pack  even  their  teas  in,  or  to  build  the  myriads 
of  junks  employed  in  carrying  salt  and  grain  for  that 
population  ;  even  frequently  their  coffins  are  made  of 
bamboo  work.  But  China  is  paralysed  by  the  drain  of 
some  45,000,000  yearly  of  dollars  for  poison,  and  which 
reduces  millions  of  her  people  to  be  a  burden  on  her.  This 


THE    OPI  I'M   TRADE.  179 

traffic  "hamstrings"  the  country,  and  stirs  up  the 
people  to  a  hatred  of  all  trading  nations  ;  and  this  will  be 
fully  shown  in  her  treaties  with  England  and  America, 
compared  with  that  of  France,  and  her  manner  of  receiv 
ing  the  French  representative,  to  whom  she  granted  all 
he  asked,  even  to  full  religious  toleration.  If  that  drain 
for  opium  was  allowed  yearly  to  circulate  in  a  useful 
trade,  how  far  more  England  would  benefit,  and  to  how 
far  greater  extent  would  American  cotton  be  consumed 
by  China,  either  in  English  piece  goods,  or  in  American 
coarser  cloths.  Taking  the  product  of  the  loom  from 
either  parties,  would  be  equally  consuming  the  American 
raw  material.  What  does  America  now  gain  by  allow 
ing  a  few  individual  Americans  to  participate  in  some 
paltry  profits  in  that  trade,  and  prostitute  the  American 
flag  to  the  vile  purposes  of  smuggling,  in  comparison  to 
what  she  would  gain  if  all  parties  acted  fairly  and  hon 
orably  with  China  ? 

England  makes  treaties  with  China,  and  pays  them 
no  respect ;  but  England  regards  her  treaties  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  parties  to  compel  her  to  do  so.  She 
made  a  treaty  with  China  not  to  import  opium.  The 
British  East  India  Company,  which  is  controlled  by  her 
Majesty's  Government,  grows  the  opium  purposely  for 
China,  and  with  the  full  knowledge  that  it  is  to  be 
smuggled.  The  English  flag  protects  the  smugglers ; 
but  they  have  not  stopped  there.  The  English  Govern 
ment  has,  in  Hong  Kong,  licensed,  in  opposition  to  the 
laws  of  China,  and  in  violation  of  her  treaty,  opium 
smoking  shops.  This  is  the  quasi  liberator  of  the  op 
pressed  of  Europe,  the  Don  Quixotte  of  the  discontented, 
in  the  hopes  to  give  other  Governments  enough  to  do  at 


180  OPIUM — TEA    CHESTS. 

home  in  suppressing  disturbance,  so  as  to  prevent  them 
looking  after  her  affairs  over  the  world,  or  to  the  misery 
of  the  Irish.  That  is  her  policy.  She  would  crush 
every  spark  of  liberty  to-morrow  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  poison  the  Chinese,  if  it  tended  to  her 
aggrandizement,  or  extension  of  her  trade. 

Let  Americans,  in  the  name  of  God,  do  all  in  their  power 
to  discourage  this  nefarious  trade,  and  adhere  to  their 
treaty  with  China,  and  compel  every  citizen  to  do  so.  If 
America  will  do  this,  England,  from  shame,  will  be 
obliged  to  suppress  this  trade,  and  a  healthy  commerce 
will  then  spring  up  with  China.  Probably  America 
may,  from  her  western  coasts,  open  a  trade  in  rice, 
grain,  timber,  and  cotton,  and  of  ten-fold  more  con 
sideration  than  it  now  is  with  China,  or  a  trade  altogether 
greater  in  itself,  than  that  now  with  Great  Britain. 
Would  not  this  be  better,  yea,  would  not  the  sacrifice  of 
all  trade  be  better,  than  that  any  of  her  citizens  should 
be  permitted  to  violate  the  solemn  treaties  entered 
into,  and  which  she  is  solemnly  bound  to  maintain  in 
full  force  and  spirit  1  No  American  should  be  allowed 
to  encourage  and  abet,  or  aid  or  participate,  in  the 
trade,  in  any  way  whatever.  Is  it  better  that  one  or 
two  individuals  should  make  a  few  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars,  to  the  detriment  of  American  honor,  than  that 
the  whole  country  should  derive  the  benefit  of  an  exten 
sive  commerce  and  a  free  intercourse  with  so  many 
millions  of  people  ? 

I  will  mention  an  article,  of  seemingly  very  trifling 
consideration,  with  which  America  might  at  any  time 
have  supplied  China,  viz.,  a  tea-chest.  The  boards 
could  be  cut  and  prepared  to  be  put  together  in  China, 


AMERICAN'     FLAG     DISHONORED.  181 

and  conveyed  from  America.  The  bottoms,  lids,  sides, 
and  ends  of  each  box  should  be  carefully  placed  with 
each  other,  so  that  no  confusion  would  arise,  and  that  the 
boards  or  board  of  one  box  might  not  get  mixed  with  the 
other.  The  box  should  be  made  of  the  lightest  timber, 
no  matter  how  soft,  or  inferior  the  wood,  but  pine  wood, 
or  any  wood  having  a  strong  smell,  would  not  be  suitable, 
as  it  would  injure  the  flavor  of  the  tea.  China  exports 
120,000,000  Ibs.  I  believe  her  boxes,  the  largest,  do 
not  hold  much  more  than  half  a  pecul,  661  Ibs.  to  80  lbs« 
Therefore,  she  requires  nearly  2,000,000  of  chests  at 
that  dimension ;  but  as  the  tea  is  packed  in  boxes  con 
taining  five  cattie  chests,  ten  cattie,  &c.,  &c.  to  the 
largest  size,  there  would  be  some  3,000,000  of  chests 
required — and  for  domestic  use,  she  would  require  several 
times  that  amount.  America,  judiciously  entering  on 
this  one  branch  of  business,  and  carrying  to  China  tea- 
chests  of  all  sizes,  packed  up  in  boards,  which  would  not 
occupy  much  storage,  would  make  ten  times  as  much 
as  she  can  by  any  connection  through  a  few  individuals 
in  the  infamous  trade  of  opium.  And  if  there  be  this 
opening  in  a  branch  of  trade  heretofore  un thought  of, 
what  must  be  the  amount  of  trade  that  may  be  carried  on 
with  500,000,000  of  people.  Let  America  act  honorably 
and  conscientiously. 

Americans,  your  glorious  stars  and  stripes  are  become 
the  inglorious  flag  of  smugglers ;  your  solemn  treaty  is 
torn  into  shreds ;  your  faith  is  violated  ;  your  colors 
float,  and  your  eagle  spreads  his  wings  from  the  mast 
heads  of  seven  opium  smugglers  :  four  on  the  coast  of 
China,  and  three  between  China  and  East  India;  and 
through  the  agency  of  a  few,  the  ensigns  of  your  country 


182  OPIUM    TRADE. 

are  become  the  scape-goats  of  opium  monopolists  arid 
English  cupidity  !  Look  to  this  pour  amour  de  la  patrie. 

The  drain  of  silver  from  China  by  this  opium,  is 
striking  at  the  root  of  commerce  ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  large  amount  of  cash  America  and  England  pay  for 
their  goods  beyond  the  value  of  the  goods  exported,  which 
may  be  now  some  20,000,000  of  dollars,  (in  1845  it  was 
16,000,000  ready  cash,)  and  as  the  import  into  America 
of  tea  for  1851  is  upwards  of  28,700,000  Ibs.,  ready 
cash  payments  must  have  greatly  increased  on  the  part 
of  America ;  therefore,  there  is  no  way  to  increase  the 
trade  with  China  but  by  putting  a  stop  to  the  opium 
drain,  which  is  so  much  more  serious  than  is  represented. 
Next  year  (1852)  the  charter  of  the  British  East  India 
Company  is  to  be  brought  before  Parliament,  and  it  is 
the  more  necessary  to  conceal  the  amount  of  this  fearful 
drug  that  is  produced ;  therefore,  the  drain  for  opium 
on  China,  yearly,  cannot  be  less  than  44,000,000  of 
dollars,  and  the  destruction  of  some  five  to  six  millions 
of  people  annually. 

In  proof  of  this  injury  to  the  trade  of  China,  I  will 
not  fill  up  this  article  further  by  the  testimony  of  indi 
viduals,  but  will  give  two  extracts  from  the  deliberate 
judgment  of  a  body  of  Englishmen,  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  of  1847  ;  and  since  their  report  was  made, 
the  evil  has  increased  100  per  cent.  :  "  The  pay 
ment  for  opium,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  inordinate 
desire  for  it  which  prevails,  and  from  the  unrecognized 
nature  of  the  transaction,  which  requires  a  prompt  settle 
ment  of  accounts,  absorbs  the  silver,  to  the  great  incon 
venience  of  the  general  traffic  of  the  Chinese."  And 
again  :  "  Opium  trade,  however,  already  flourishes  at 


EXC ITEMENT — OPI U  M.  1 83 

Fouchoo-foo,  with  all  its  demoralizing  influences  on  the 
population,  and  embarrassing  effects  on  the  monetary 
condition  of  the  place." 

There  is  a  very  erroneous  impression,  viz.  :  that  the 
opium  eater  is  not  a  dangerous  man  under  its  effects. 
The  facts  are  quite  the  reverse.  On  all  war  or  exter 
minating  excursions  of  the  Singphoos,  they  keep  up  the 
excitement  by  opium.  Under  its  influence,  the  face 
becomes  fearfully  puffed,  the  eyes  dazzling,  and  then  the 
person  so  affected  is  roused  by  the  least  provocation  to 
perpetrate  any  murderous  act ;  and  so  dangerous  are 
they  under  this  excitement,  that  it  is  necessary  to  sooth 
them.  When  the  English  goverment  established  smok 
ing  shops  at  Hong  Kong,  they  were  obliged  to  prohibit 
the  smokers  to  carry  arms  into  the  shops,  under  a  very 
heavy  penalty  of  fifty  dollars.  It  is  only  when  the  ef 
fects  die  off  that  the  smoker  becomes  quiet,  because 
his  body  and  mind  are  then  prostrated,  and  he  trembles 
from  head  to  foot. 

The  English  Government  is  not  content  with  the  word 
smuggling,  they  do  not  like  the  name  ;  it  does  not  sound 
well ;  and  what  would  that  Government  do  to  wash 
out  that  foul  stain  1  They  would  add  to  the  villany  of 
smuggling  and  poisoning,  the  crime  of  corruption  of  as 
noble  an  emperor  as  ever  sat  on  a  throne.  They  strive 
to  corrupt  him,  that  they  might  have  the  unfortunate 
Chinese  at  their  feet,  and  then,  instead  of  administering 
54,000  to  80,000  chests  of  poison  to  the  unfortunate 
people,  they  could  send  hundreds  of  thousands  of  chests, 
and  destroy  every  good  quality  amongst  them,  and 
then  say  to  them  as  one  of  the  Governor  Generals  of 
India  said  tg  the  native  princes  of  that  country  :  u  You 


184  BRITISH     POLICY    AND    CORRUPTION. 

are  incapable  of  managing  yourselves ;  you  are  lawless,  and 
we  must  manage  you  ;  you  must  receive  into  China  our 
contingent  forces.  We  cannot  irust  you  to  pay  these 
forces,  we  must  see  them  paid  ;  therefore,  allot  to  us  the 
province  of  Quang-Tong." 

The  arrangement  made,  some  squabble  would  soon 
occur  between  the  English  province  and  the  Chinese.  It 
would  be  magnified  into  insult,  and  that  the  people  were 
tumultuous  ;  extra  forces  and  extra  expense  were  neces 
sary  to  curb  them,  and  another  province  must  go  to 
England  for  that  purpose.  Next  step  would  be  to  spur 
on  the  unfortunate  Government  into  hostility.  War 
would  be  declared,  and  England  would  be  triumphant; 
the  Emperor  a  prisoner,  and  declared  dethroned,  and 
some  worthless  member  put  on  the  guddee  (throne).  He 
would  show  his  inability  to  reign,  and  would  have  to 
accept  a  pension  from  England.  And  his  Excellency, 
my  Lord  Duke,  as  Governor- General  of  the  Celestial 
Empire,  would  issue  his  ukase,  and  the  world  then  might 
know  the  value  of  some  hundred  thousand  chests  of 
opium,  and  England's  feigned  love  of  liberty. 

The  amount  of  opium  sales  is  now,  say  $45,000,000. 
Well,  said  the  English,  "  your  Majesty  has  not  power  to 
prevent  us  smuggling  this  opium,  therefore,  why  resist  1 
Put  a  duty  on  the  opium,  it  will  put  money  into  your 
coffers."  Here  was  the  ruffian  duplicity  of  that  offer. 
.Say  25  per  cent  duty  was  put  on,  it  would  make 
11,000,000  dollars  of  a  bribe  for  his  Majesty.  Then  all 
over  China,  as  well  as  on  the  sea-board,  the  poison  would 
flow  like  a  desolating  flame  ;  200,000  or  300,000  chests 
would  find  consumers.  His  Majesty's  revenue  would  be 
gradually  increasing  from  $11,000,000  to  $41,250,000, 


GLORIOUS   KESOLVE    OF   TAOU-KWAXG.          185 

yearly.    Was  there  ever  a  more  insinuating  bribe  offered 
to  any  man  by  any  villain  ? 

Oh,  Americans  !  give  full  credit  to  other  races  when 
they  show  a  generosity  to  which  we  are  strangers.  The 
truly  great,  noble  and  high  minded  Taou-Kwang,  present 
Ruler  of  China,  and  worthy  Emperor  of  500,000,000  of 
people,  with,  true  greatness  responded  :  "It  is  true  I 
cannot  prevent  the  introduction  of  the  flowing  poison. 
Gain-seeking  and  corrupt  men  will,  for  profit  and  sensu 
ality,  defeat  my  wishes  ;  but  nothing  will  induce  me  to 
derive  a  revenue  from  the  vice  and  misery  of  my  people. " 


'X 


ror 
"JFOF.-V, 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 


OF  THE 


UNITED    STATES 


IF  this  subject  be  considered  fully,  and  such  reasonable 
data  made  use  of  as  land-marks  in  guiding  the  mind,  not 
to  possibilities,  but  to  probabilities,  it  may  be  made  most 
interesting  and  useful ;  and  may  afford  some  faint  glim 
mering  light  into  the  futurity  of,  not  only  the  United 
States,  but  America  generally. 

Acres. 

The  area  of  the  United  States,  as  set  forth  in  table,  is  2,081,759.000 
The  area  of  China,  in  miles,  is  1,297,999,  or  acres, 
830,829,200.     China  has  more  than  half  its  area 
occupied  by  mountains.*  Official  returns  of  land 
under  cultivation  is  141,119,347,  which,  allow 
ing  one  half  to  be  under  mountains,  then  two 
thirds  of  the  arable  lands  are  yet  to  be  culti 
vated,       -  -  830,829,100 
The  area  of  France,  52,760,299  hectares,  or  acres,        130,391,040 
The  area  of  England  and  Wales,         -        -        -          36,999,680 
The  area  of  Ireland,  20,399,360 

*  It  said  by  authors  that  two  thirds  is  covered  with  mountains. 


188          PRESENT    AXD     FUTURE    OF    AMERICA. 

POPULATIONS. 

Of  America,                     1850,    -  23,267,498 

Of  China,                         1812,    -  -         -         361,221,900 

Of  France,  say                1850,    -  40,097,056 

Of  England  and  Wales,  1850,    -  1.7,605,831 

Of  Ireland,  say,               1840,    -  8,175,124 

NUMBER    OF    PERSONS    TO    EACH    ACRE. 

United  States  of  America  has     -     1  person  to  every  89^  acres. 
China  had  a  population  in  1812 
of  361,000,000,  which  say  in 
creased  at  a  rate  of  10  per  cent, 
every  ten  years,    would  give, 

in  1850,  519,249,255,  or         -     1        "       to  about     1§      u 
or  2T7j9T  persons  to  every  acre 
reported  to  be  under  cultiva 
tion.* 

France,     -         -        -         -         -     1        "       to  every     3£      " 
England  and  Wales,  -  1       "  "    '      2!j      " 

Ireland,  in  1840,        -         -  1        "  "  2£      -' 

*  It  is  surprising  how  fearful  writers  on  China  subjects  are  to  give 
China  her  full  complement  of  inhabitants.  Gutzlaff  doubted  not  that 
the  population  of  China  in  1812  was  361,000,000.  Mr.  Martin  enters 
at  length  on  the  ti.bjoc.-t,  to  prove  there  were  361,000,000.  Now,  there 
is  not  one  objection  raised  but  can  be  met  and  set  aside.  Taking  the 
population  at  the  lowest  point  stated  by  objectors,  and  calculating  it 
up  to  the  present  at  a  moderate  rate  of  increase,  and  it  will  make  it 
up  to  the  amount  of  361,000,000  in  1812.  Martin  himself,  when  he 
states  the  population  to  be,  when  he  wrote  his  book  (printed  in  1847), 
400,000,000,  puts  a  dash  after  the  number.  If  we  whites  do  not  come 
up  to  a  great  population  like  other  people,  it  is  because  we  are  a  tur 
bulent  race,  ever  desirous  of  shedding  blood,  and  tyrannizing  over 
each  other.  Where  there  is  that  degree  of  civilization,  that  there  is 
in  China,  and  without  any  severe,  or  in  fact  any,  affliction  or  calamity 
having  befel  the  Chinese  since  1812,  except  the  drain  on  the  popula 
tion  by  the  Christian's  poisoning  them  with  opium ;  therefore,  calcu 
lating  the  increase  of  the  Chinese  population  at  the  low  rate  of  ten 
per  cent.,  it  would  be  529,000,000  in  1850. 


INCREASE    OF    POPULATION.  189 

INCREASE    OF    POPULATION. 

United  States,  Whites,         '   from  1840  to  1850,  36}  per  cent. 
"  Free  colored,  "  "       14 

Slaves,  "  "      27£ 

Total  increase,                                      -  38T6T      •' 

China,  supposed  to  be  at  least,  say      -         -        -  10 

France,  for  14  years,  23f  per  cent.,  or  10  years,  -  17^        " 
England  and  Wales,  during  40  years,  averaged 

10  years,  15£        " 

Ireland  is  no  criterion  to  go  by  because  of  her  emigra 
tion  and  reverses ;  therefore,  to  obtain  a  population  in 
proportion  equal  to  China — 

The  United  States  require  1,301,109,975 

"             "             "       to  France,  in  1850,  say  640,541,230 

"             "             "       to  England  and  Wales,  780,659,625 

"             "             "       to  Ireland,  in  1840,     -  834,506,000 

The  two  next  considerations  are  : — First,  Is  the  soil  of 
America  throughout  equally  capable  of  supporting  the 
same  population  as  the  countries  mentioned?  China 
cannot  have  less  than  one  third  her  area  occupied  by 
mountains  and  barren  lands.  A  portion  of  England  and 
Wales  is  also  occupied  by  barren  tracts  and  hills.  Ire 
land  has  also  a  large  space  under  hills  or  mountains ; 
and  although  her  soil  is  the  richest  of  all,  yet  a  portion 
of  Connauglit,  as  well  as  the  north,  is  poor.  American 
soil  may,  perhaps,  be  pronounced  poor  by  some  ;  but  the 
American  farmers  are  themselves  the  poorest — I  do  not 
mean  in  circumstances,  but  the  poorest  in  science  of  cul 
tivation  and  treatment  of  the  land  ;  I  mean  the  South 
erners.,  particularly.  A  portion  of  France  is  very  poor. 


190          PRESENT    AND    FUTURE    OF    AMERICA. 

Therefore,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  United  States  are 
capable  of  supporting  at  least  some  700,000,000  of 
people. 

Now,  there  may  be  those  who  say,  "  that  amount  can 
never  be  obtained ;  that  it  never  had  been  obtained."  It 
may  not  be  amiss  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  doubtful 
to  the  possibility  of  the  States  arriving  at  so  extraordi 
nary  a  degree  of  populosity.  Ancient  Egypt  is  repre 
sented  as  about  200  leagues,  or  say  600  miles,  in  length, 
and  confined  between  hedges  of  mountains  on  each  side 
of  the  hill,  which,  on  the  east  side,  approach  that  river 
to  within  a  half  a  day's  journey,  say  15  to  16  miles. 
On  the  west  side,  the  country  extends  from  TO  to  90 
miles  ;  and  from  Alexandria  to  Damietta,  the  widest 
part,  it  is  only  about  150  miles  ;  not  more  than  one 
fourth  the  area  of  Texas.  Yet  it  is  represented  to  have 
contained,  under  the  reign  of  Amasis,  20,000  inhabited 
cities,  one  of  which — Thebes — is  said  to  have  been  able 
to  send  forth  at  once  from  her  100  gates,  200  chariots 
and  10,000  fighting  men  from  each  gate,  or,  in  all, 
1,000,000  soldiers.  Allowing,  at  a  very  low  calcula 
tion,  five  inhabitants  to  every  soldier,  it  would  make  the 
city  of  Thebes,  one  only  in  20,000,  to  contain  5,000,000 
of  inhabitants.  These  historical  statements  of  Egypt 
may  be,  perhaps,  exaggerated,  but  could  not  be  so  far  from 
the  facts  as  to  deceive  all.  We  are  rather  prone  to  reduce 
populations  below  what  they  actually  number.  Before  the 
first  census  of  Ireland,  taken  in  1812,  the  English  always 
represented  her  at  less  than  one  half  of  her  numbers. 
The  wonderful  works  of  Ancient  Egypt  are  certain  evi 
dence  of  an  amount  of  population  not  to  be  equalled  to-day 
by  any  country,  even  China  comparatively.  Probably,  at 


INCREASE    OF    POPULATION.  19  i 

the  time  of  building  the  great  wall,  China  might  have  an 
equally  dense  population. 

To  proceed  further,  and  to  see  when  the  amount  of 
700,000,000  of  inhabitants  is  to  be  realized.  Table 
A  will  show  the  progressive  increase  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  up  to  the  year  2,000,  or  150  years  hence. 
I  have  made  the  calculations  at  the  rate  of  35  per  cent., 
nearly  what  it  has  been  from  '40  to  '50,  for  the  next  ten 
years,  to  1860;  for  the  following  ten,  to  1870,  at  30  per 
cent. ;  and  from  that  period,  at  the  rate  of  25  per  cent., 
for  whites.  For  slaves,  at  23  per  cent,  only  from  1850  ; 
and  for  free  colored  at  15  per  cent.  These  rates  are 
very  moderate  compared  with  past  years.  And  it  may 
be  supposed  that  25  per  cent,  is  not  in  keeping  with  the 
past  ratio  of  increase,  but  'that  increase  cannot  be  main 
tained.  The  same  amount  of  immigrants  may  flow  into 
America,  but  they  cannot  swell  up  the  per  centage  to  the 
same  degree  upon  a  large  population  as  they  could  on  a 
small  one.  For  instance— 500,000  on  10,000,000  would 
be  5  per  cent.,  on  30,000,000  it  would  be  only  If  per 
cent.,  and  so  on. 

To  prove  further  that  25  per  cent,  is  not  much  below 
the  future  increase,  after  another  20  years,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  point  out  the  following.  The  white  popula 
tion  in  1830  was  only  10,526,246.  From  1820  to  '30, 
the  immigration  was  140,000  ;  and  in  1840  the  whites 
were  14,189,108  ;  the  immigration  that  ten  years  was 
601,000.  Showing  that,  deducting  immigration  and 
their  increase,  would  leave  the  settled  population's  in 
crease  to  be  28 f  per  cent.,  the  increase  of  both  to  be 
84T\  per  cent.,  as  per  census.  Therefore,  considering 


192          PRESENT    AND     FUTURE    OF     AMERICA. 

that  the  increase  on  large  populations  never  keeps  pace 
with  that  on  smaller  populations,  the  calculation  of  25 
per  cent,  is  not  under  what  the  increase  may  be  in  some 
years  hence  ;  and  if  it  be  under'it  for  the  next  100  years, 
it  will  be  as  certainly  over  it  for  the  following  50  years 
of  the  tabular  calculation  annexed. 

The  free  colored  population  will  most  likely  not  keep 
its  place  as  a  class.  The  proportion  of  white  males 
and  females  will  be  for  the  future  more  equal  than  it  has 
been  heretofore  ;  and  probably  the  female  will  prepon 
derate  over  the  male  population  ;  and,  consequently, 
there  will  be  more  marriages,  and  less  intercourse 
between  the  two  races,  between  whom  there  is  such 
wide  difference,  as  an  Irishman  would  say,  in  flesh  and 
blood.  The  last  ten  years  kheir  increase  has  been  only 
14  per  cent.  I  have  calculated  it,  all  through,  at  15  per 
cent. 

SLAVERY. 

The  slaves  I  have  calculated  throughout  from  1850  at 
23  per  cent.  From  '30  to  '40  it  was  23^  per  cent.;  from 
'40  to  '50,  271  per  cent.  If  they  do  increase  at  the  rate 
of  274  per  cent,  they  would  be  likely  to  gain  numerically 
after  some  years  on  the  white  population.  However, 
taking  it  at  23  per  cent.,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  num 
bers  of  slaves,  or  negroes,  will  become  excessively  great. 
Their  increase  is  much  less  likely  to  be  interrupted  than 
that  of  the  whites.  As  slaves,  they  will  be  kept  at 
home,  cared  for,  and  suffer  no  diminution  in  war  or  on  sea. 
Upon  the  white  population,  all  that  drain  of  men  will 
fall,  as  well  as  the  drain  from  dissipation  and  intern- 


SLAVERY.  193 

perance.  Therefore,  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  the 
negro  population  do  actually  gain  on  the  whites,  and  in 
stead  of  being  one  to  nine  of  the  white  population  150 
years  hence,  they  may  be  more  seriously  numerous, 
especially  if  they  increase  at  the  rate  of  27  to  30*  per 
cent,  in  every  10  years.  It  is,  therefore,  for  the  whites 
seriously  to  consider  whether  it  would  be  for  the  interest 
of  their  race,  and  of  the  whole  Continent  of  America,  to 
overrun  it  with  a  negro  population,  which  bids  so  fair,  in 
the  long  run,  to  be  so  numerous. 

However,  the  loss  of  some  3,179,589  souls  of  the 
laboring  population,  at  this  period,  would  be  a  most 
destructive  blow  to  both  Northern  and  Southern  United 
States.  The  Irish,  the  Germans,  and  the  negroes,  are 
the  life  and  soul  of  America  ;  probably  the  Germans  are 
not  so  much  so  in  proportion  to  the  other  two  races,  as 
they  are  more  given  to  store  keeping,  &c. ,  which  are  un 
productive  occupations,  and  only  multiply  more  drones 
in  the  hive  of  the  laboring  bees,  and  impose  more  heavy 
burdens  on  them.  Take  away  the  negroes,  and  all  the 
agricultural,  and  all  public  works4  would  fall  heavily  on 
the  Irish,  and  Irish  descendants  almost  exclusively.  And 
as  the  population  of  Ireland  is  reduced  two  fifths  from 
what,  under  anything  like  favorable  circumstances,  it 
should  be  ;  and  immigration  from  that  quarter  is  now 
from  the  stock,  and  not  from  the  excess  of  its  population  : 
in  a  short  time  it  must  be  checked. 

The  Spaniards  expelled  the  Moors,  and  dealt  a  heavy 
blow  to  their  nation's  progress.  The  loss  of  a  body  of 

*  At  an  increase  of  28  per  cent,  in  150  years,  the  slaves  would  be 
128,126,630,  more  than  1  to  5  of  white?. 


194:          PRESENT    AND    FUTUKE    OF    AMEKICA. 

at  least  two  thirds  of  the  agricultural  laborers  of  the 
United  States,  would  be  so  destructive  to  her  interest, 
that  no  American  in  heart  could  countenance  it.  It  would 
be  destructive  to  agriculture  and  commerce  at  the  same 
time. 

However,  the  other  evil  is  to  be  guarded  against,  viz.  : 
the  overruning  America  with  a  negro  race.  The  increase 
per  cent,  of  the  slaves  of  the  Southern  States  has  been 
extreme,  compared  to  that  of  whites  ;  who,  with  all  the 
extraordinary  immigration  in  the  last  20  years,  have  not 
greatly  advanced  their  per  cent,  over  that  of  the  negroes. 
In  1830,  the  slaves  were  as  one  to  five  of  the  whites  ;  in 
1850  they  are  as  one  to  six  nearly.  During  all  that 
time,  the  amount  of  immigration  of  whites  has  been 
1,855,643,  and  that  1,855,613  in  the  prime  of  life  ;  and 
adding,  by  their  capability  to  increase  and  multiply,  as 
well  as  by  their  own  numbers,  a  per  centage  to  therwhite 
population,  that  must  be  far  greater  than  the  negro 
increase.  Therefore,  their  increase  could  not  be  less 
than  30  per  cent. ,  which  would  lower  the  increase  of  the 
permanently  settled  whites  to  about  28J  per  cent,  average 
for  the  last  two  decades. 

Therefore,  the  introduction  of  slaves,  day  after  day, 
into  Brazils,  with  the  productive  powers  to  propagate  their 
kind,  there  is  every  prospect  of  America  becoming  seri 
ously  inconvenienced  in  some  not  very  distant  time.  In 
150  years  hence  the  number  of  negroes  from  the  present 
stock  of  8,179,589  will  be  70,000,000,  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-three  per  cent,  each  decade,  or  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-three  per  cent.  128,126,630.  The  present  amount 
of  the  race  is  computed  at  55,000,000  in  Africa  and  all 
other  places.  If  to  the  increase  of  the  above  amount  of 


SLAVEKY.  195 

the  now  stock  of  the  Southern  States  there  be  added  that 
of  the  Brazilian  slaves,  arid  of  South  America,  and  their 
increase,  then  there  is  an  almost  certainty  of  converting 
America  into  an  Africa. 

The  introduction  of  more  slaves  into  Brazils,  or  into 
any  portion  of  America,  will  magnify  the  evil ;  and  it 
behooves  Americans  at  once  to  resolve  upon  a  determined 
line  of  action,  to  suppress  all  further  traffic  with  Africa 
for  slaves.  In  fact,  to  declare  war  in  the  most  decided 
manner  against  the  further  importation  of  the  negro  race. 
England  is  really  and  truly  now  spending  some  5,000,000 
of  dollars  annually  for  no  other  interest  than  that  of  the 
white  race  of  America  in  the  future  day. 

At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  well  understood  that 
there  is  no  one  object,  no  one  virtue,  that  cannot  be  car 
ried  to  excess.  At  present  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves 
in  the  Southern  States  would  be  a  death  blow  to  both 
Northern  and  Southern  States,  and  to  the  injury  of  Eng 
land  herself.  All  true  Americans  must  join  in  a  practi 
cal  and  a  humane  object,  for  the  good  of  both  races  and 
their  future  well-being  ;  and  wisely  and  generously  and 
in  brotherhood  devise  the  means  of  a  future  total  separa 
tion  of  the  black  from  the  white,  and  yet  to  advance  the 
prosperity  of  both. 

The  facility  to  effect  that  final  separation,  that  advance 
ment  of  the  two  interests,  is  as  easy  as  it  is  for  Ameri 
ca's  best  scholar  to  read  his  ABC.  I  say  easy;  there 
would  be  labor,  as  there  is  in  all  things,  but  the  profits 
arising  from  that  labor  would  be  so  great  and  extensive 
that  it  would  be  like  travelling  in  a  spring-cushioned  car 
riage,  of  the  latest  improvement,  on  a  well  Macadamized 
road. 


196          PRESENT    AND    FUTURE    OF    AMEKICA. 

There  never  was  an  opportunity  equal  to  that  now 
at  America's  disposal.  There  is  a  wide  field,  a  bound 
less  area  in  Africa  for  the  multiplication  of  the  human 
race.  It  has  been,  from  the  first  dawn  of  man,  and  is 
now,  the  natural  home  of  the  negroes.  They  are  there,  in 
the  year  1851,  unimproved  and  savage.  To  improve  and 
advance  them  in  civilization  would  be  to  work  out  the 
merciful  designs  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  and  it  would 
be  to  place  the  poor  negroes  high  in  the  human  family. 
To  achieve  so  benevolent  an  object  would  be  one  of  the 
most  glorious  acts  that  ever  has  been  recorded  in  history ; 
one  of  the  most  noble  and  humane  for  our  race  and  age 
to  work  out.  Improve  and  instruct  the  father,  arid  let 
him  bring  up  his  child  from  his  tender  age  in  the 
way  of  thinking,  and  that  child  will  be  susceptible  of 
greater  improvement  than  his  father;  and  that  instruc 
tion  continued  from  father  to  son,  each  successive  gener 
ation  would  increase  in  mental  powers.  The  more  exer 
cise  the  body  goes  through  the  more  it  is  capable  of 
enduring  ;  and  it  is  the  same  with  the  mind,  it  increases  in 
vigor.  To  say  the  negro  is  not  capable  of  improvement 
is  quite  erroneous  ;  the  condition  of  the  slaves  in  the 
Southern  States  explodes  the  absurd  charge,  and  it  is  only 
a  dogma  put  forth  by  atheists.  The  white  races  would 
descend  to  the  level  of  the  negro  capacity  if  left  for  ages 
without  education,  and  circumscribed  in  their  intercourse. 
Take  a  man  from  the  coal  mines  of  England  and  place 
him  beside  the  negro,  and  where  is  the  difference  in  intel 
lect  or  morals  1  and  yet  the  miner  may  be  the  son  of  & 
father  who  had  some  education,  and  he  himself  had  some 
intercourse  with  intelligent  beings.  He  sees  railroads, 
machinery,  &c.,  and  hears  of  great  goings  on  in  the 


SLAVERY.  197 

world,  yet  he  is  as  low  down  in  the  scale  of  understand 
ing  as  any  negro  of  the  South. 

The  salutary  effects  of  improving  the  negro  race  would 
be  of  far  greater  interest  to  all  than  if  the  whole  negro 
race  had  been  converted  into  slaves.  What  would  be 
the  consequence  of  having  an  enlightened  and  industrious 
people  in  Africa?  Open  out  that  unknown  continent, 
to  make  it  productive  of  all  the  blessings  it  is  so  capable 
of  bestowing  on  the  whole  race  of  human  beings.  Amer 
ica  would  then  hold  a  proud  position,  placed  between 
Europe  and  Africa  on  the  one  hand,  and  China  on  the 
other,  carrying  on  commerce  with  them  all. 

An  extensive  preparation  has  been  for  a  long  period  in 
operation  for  such  an  undertaking ;  and,  if  applied,  an 
extensive  progress  would  be  made  by  making  a  com 
mencement.  There  are  some  thousands  of  freed  slaves  ; 
and  the  Southern  people,  of  their  own  good  will,  have 
freed,  and  will  continue  to  free  thousands,  year  after 
year.  All  the  slaves  have  been  brought  up  in  the  same 
way  as  the  whites — some  are  well  acquainted  with  agri 
culture — some  have  been  engaged  on  ships,  on  steamers 
and  railroads — some  are  good  carpenters,  smiths,  &c. 

These  people,  led  back  to  Africa  under  intelligent 
leaders,  and  established  as  a  colony,  would  do  much  to 
improve  their  race*.  They  would  at  least  be  able  to  ex 
tend  their  influence,  and  by  the  aid  of  America  and  of 
continued  reinforcements  of  manumitted  slaves  from  this 
country,  would  soon  establish  a  new  kingdom  and  a  new 
state  of  things.  Such  a  colony,  directed  by  a  few  able 
whites,  would  find  it  an  easy  matter  to  progress.  Often 
in  India  a  few  enterprising  men  establish  themselves  in 
the  most  powerful  kingdoms  ;  for  instance,  the  Pindaree 


198  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

chiefs,  &c. ;  and  even  a  few  Europeans  have  raised 
themselves  to  thrones  in  India,  without  even  a  cent  to 
commence  on.  We  read  in  Reynolds's  History  of  the 
Indies,  what  a  few  hundreds  of  Portuguese  have  done  in 
East  India ;  of  an  intrepid  leader  with  a  small  band 
defeating  an  army  of  thousands,  and  at  a  time,  too,  when 
the  mode  of  warfare  in  Europe  was  conducted  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  the  present  day.  We  know 
what  the  Spaniards  achieved  in  America  ;  we  know  what 
a  mighty  kingdom  a  few  merchants  have  raised  in  East 
India ;  we  know  how  often  and  often  colonies  of  a  few 
scores  of  whites  have  located  themselves  in  these  States, 
and  succeeded  in  progressing  against  thousands  of  In 
dians,  and  all  the  other  obstacles  that  opposed  them.  In 
no  one  of  these  cases  I  have  mentioned,  was  there  the 
same  advantages  held  out,  as  there  is  now,  by  the  collec 
tion  of  these  freed  negroes,  to  achieve  the  same  revolu 
tions  in  Africa.  No  one  can  say  the  project  is  mere 
speculation.  Had  the  band  of  active,  energetic  men, 
who  went  to  Cuba,  collected  a  few  thousands  of  negroes, 
arid  placed  themselves  at  their  head,  and  set  themselves 
down  in  Africa,  who  can  doubt  that  the  result  would 
be  rapid  strides  in  progressive  improvement,  not  by 
war,  but  as  Mr.  Penn  did  in  Pennsylvania.  Neither 
the  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  nor  English,  ever  had 
the  same  facilities  at  their  command  ;  and  when  we  com 
pare  the  science  and  improvements  of  the  present  with 
those  of  two  centuries  ago,  say  1650  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  consider  that  the  negroes  in  Africa  are  now  in  as 
benighted,  yea,  in  a  more  benighted  state  than  the  Ameri 
can  Indians,  no  comparison  could  be  made  between 
the  East  India  people  and  the  negroes.  There  would  be 


SLAVERY.  199 

but  little  exertions  needed  to  gain  a  complete  control  over 
the  whole  race.  Some  30,000  ivhites  in  East  India  gov 
ern  some  200,000,000  of  Indians. 

To  establish  such  a  colony  in  Africa  would  be  a  far 
simpler  thing  to  effect  than  to  conquer  Cuba,  and  it 
would  be  a  means  of  gradually  relieving  this  country  of 
the  negroes. 

To  emancipate  the  slaves  and  leave  them  in  these 
States  would  be  a  step  full  of  the  greatest  danger,  and 
the  most  evil  consequences  would  be  certain  to  follow. 
In  America,  being  freed,  there  would  be  no  one,  as  there 
would  be  in  a  colony,  to  guide  and  direct  them  as  a 
body.  Therefore  the  negroes,  except  in  some  cases,  are 
not  prepared  for  freedom.  They  have  passed  from  genera 
tion  to  generation  without  the  habit  of  thinking,  and 
thought  is  the  mainspring  to  action.  The  labor  of  slaves 
in  the  Southern  States  is  but  a  kind  of  healthy  exercise, 
as  their  great  increase  in  numbers  show — and  they  are 
altogether  taken  more  effectually  care  of  by  their  owners, 
than  are  the  owner's  own  children  ;  for  affection  of  the 
parent  is  often  the  ruin  of  the  child,  but  the  negro  is 
ruled  by  judgment  tempered  with  kindness,  and  a  great 
deal  of  leniency.  The  slaveholder  knows  that  to 
preserve  the  negro  strong  and  vigorous  in  body  is 
for  his  interest;  that  ill- treatment  or  connivance  at  dissi 
pation  would  be  detrimental  to  himself ;  a  sick  negro  is 
a  burden,  a  healthy  one  is  wealth  to  his  owner.  There 
fore  these  considerations,  and  the  naturally  kind  and 
generous  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  South,  have  rendered 
the  negroes  the  most  contented  and  cheerful  people  that  I 
have  met  with  in  my  extensive  travels.  The  abolitionist 
who  would  do  aught  to  interrupt  that  contented  condition 


200  PRESENT   AND    FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

without  being  prepared  to  better  it  by  some  practical 
scheme,  is  but  a  selfish  demagogue,  and  should  be  dis 
countenanced  by  every  well-disposed  man. 

To  bring  round  the  immediate  emancipation  -would  not 
be  for  the  interest  of  the  slaves  in  the  South — and  it 
would  be  an  unjustifiable  plunder  of  the  Southern  people, 
as  the  greater  portion  of  them  have  no  property  but 
slaves.  It  would  be  depriving  them  of  that  property 
transmitted  to  them  by  England  itself.*  It  would  leave 
the  father  with  his  family  destitute.  It  would  leave  the 
widow  and  the  orphan  to  famish  in  want  and  misery.  It 
would  be  to  make  vagabonds  and  a  discontented  people 
of  the  now  cheerful  and  contented  slave ;  it  would  be  to 
cut  off  the  right  arm  of  the  United  States  generally ;  it 
would  be  to  bring  round  a  deadly  warfare  between  the 
two  races,  which  would  end  in  the  negroes  being  exter 
minated,  and  would  for  a  few  years  deprive  England  of 
one  half  of  her  supply  of  cotton. 

Two  articles  would  cease  to  be  cultivated  in  America 
with  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  viz  :  cotton  and  rice. 

The  yearly  exports  from  the  whole  of  the  United 
States,  taking  the  average  of  the  last  three  years,  would 
be  $133,500,000. 

*  Slavery  was  introduced  as  early  as  1620  into  South  Carolina  by 
the  English,  and  at  a  very  recent  period  the  following  parties  took 
part  in  the  trade,  viz : 

From  1st  January  1804  to  31st  December  1807,  the  following  is  the 
number  of  slaves  imported  into  South  Carolina : 

By  the  English  19,649 

By  the  French  1,078 

In  American  vessels      -  18,048 

So  it  is  seen  England  can  swear  like  John  Bull  at  slavery,  but 
make  money  on  human  flesh  when  the  opportunity  serves. 


201  EXPORTS   OF   COTTON. 

There  are  frequent  discrepancies  between  the  different 
repor-ts  of  exports  -from  the  United  States  in  different 
works ;  in  fact  there  is  no  country  so  deficient  in  statisti 
cal  information  as  the  United  States. 

The  yearly  exports  of  cotton,  taking  averages  of  last 
three  years,  as  given  in  the  London  Times  of  13th 
October,  1851,  is  at  Liverpool  prices,  $78,772,361 

The  yearly  exports  of  rice,  say  136,282 

Total  average  exports  of  cotton  and  rice  $78,918,643 
1  ask  Americans,  could  they  afford  to  strike  off 
$78,918,643  from  their  agricultural-  and  commercial  re 
sources  ?  Nor  would  the  loss  stop  at  that  sum  even  ;  cot 
ton  and  rice  would  be  imported  at  much  lower  rates  by 
England  from  other  countries  than  they  could  be  grown 
here  for  domestic  consumption  by  free  labor.  Therefore 
the  value  of  these  articles  consumed  yearly  in  the  United 
States  would  be  lost  also,  or  a  sum  amounting  to 
$9,100,128,  making  a  total  sacrifice  of  $88,018,771. 

Emancipation  would  be  the  destruction  of  the  United 
States  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

Cotton  now  stands  the  planter,  with  slave  labor, 
5£  cents  per  lb.;  expense  of  cultivation,  and  ginning — 
slave  labor  stands  him  in  21!  to  25  cents  a  day,  (as 
shown  in  table  C.)  For  white  labor,  the  planter  will 
have  to,  pay  50  cents  up  to  one  dollar  a  day,  which  will 
raise  the  expense  of  cultivating  cotton,  as  21f  is  to  50, 
or  12f  cents  per  lb.  Four  cents  per  lb.  above  market 
rates.  But  beyond  this — WHERE  is  THE  AMOUNT  OF 
LABOR  TO  COME  FROM?  England  has  had  sad  expe 
rience  in  the  West  Indies,  of  the  effect  of  emancipation, 
which  reduced  estates  from  the  value  of  £50,000  to 

9* 


202  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

£4,000  or  £5,000.  Abolitionists  represent  that  falling 
off  in  value  to  other  causes,  but  they  are  mistaken ;  the 
decline  was  so  rapid  that  other  causes  had  no  time  to 
operate,  nor  do  the  English  themselves  believe  that  other 
than  emancipation  of  the  slaves  had  aught  to  do  with  the 
decline  of  the  West  Indies,  and  we  see  them  doing  all 
they  can  by  importing  Bengal  coolies  to  supply  the  place 
of  the  slaves  who  refused  to  work. 

Dismiss  3,000,000  laborers  to-morrow,  how  could  an 
equal  number  be  supplied  ? 

It  would  be  very  trying  to  the  endurance  of  white 
males  to  labor  in  the  hot  South ;  white  females  could  not 
do  so.  The  present  number  of  laborers  in  America  is 
calculated  at  one  to  five  of  the  whole  population.  I  cal 
culate  it  at  one  to  six  for  agricultural  laborers  ;  here 
would  be  nearly  two  millions  of  actual  laborers  redeemed 
from  the  necessity  to  labor,  and  to  get  two  millions  of 
substitute  whites,  it  would  be  necessary  at  least  to  im 
port  some  eight  or  ten  millions  of  whites.  For  two  mil 
lion  of  males  could  not  be  exclusively  found.  The  whole 
immigration  of  twenty  years  into  this  country  was  about 
1,855,643 — so  the  laborers  necessary  could  not  be  ob 
tained  ;  and  to  ensure  any  number  of  laborers  at  all, 
wTages  would  go  up  to  a  higher  rate  than  it  is  at  present. 

What  would  the  slaves  do  if  emancipated  ?  To  get 
the  necessary  means  of  life  would  be  an  easy  matter. 
They  would  plant  some  Indian  corn,  and  probably  some 
ground-nuts  and  sweet  potatoes  ;  that  would  be  the  ex 
tent  of  their  agriculture,  and  possibly  they  might  keep 
some  poultry  and  pigs  ;  but  a  large  portion  of  the  more 
intelligent  would  flock  into  cities.  Some  would  establish 
little  shops  and  brothels,  others  would  hire  themselves  as 


203  EVILS   OF   EMANCIPATION. 

butlers,  &c.,  and  a  general  system  of  petty  theft  would 
be  carried  on  in  -every  city  where  they  would  establish 
themselves.  They  would  become  objects  of  derision  and 
hatred  to  the  white  population  ;  arid  the  few  who  would 
amass  wealth  would  only  be  the  cause  of  greater  tempta 
tion  to  the  rest  to  flock  into  cities.  However,  the  more 
ignorant  might  remain  in  the  districts  and  cultivate  these 
articles  mentioned ;  but  they  never  would  do  so  to  the 
extent  of  their  wants  ;  and  then  thefts  would  be  the  only 
way  left  to  obtain  means.  The  negro  is  naturally  indo 
lent,  and  as  a  hired  laborer  would  be  employed  with 
reluctance ;  and  as  no  planter  could  depend  on  getting 
him  to  labor  at  the  necessary  times,  the  planter  would 
not  run  the  risk  of  planting  where  there  was  no  certainty 
of  his  being  able  to  save  his  crop  ;  and  the  slave's  chance 
to  get  employment  would  be  but  poor.  The  emanci 
pated  negro,  under  the  circumstances,  would  become  a 
nuisance  in  these  States,  and  would,  in  course  of  time, 
be  cut  off  from  the  land.  But  allowing  that  negroes  would 
render  themselves  happy,  and  that  they  would  take  care 
of  themselves ;  still  cotton  and  rice  planting  in  the  South 
solely  depends  on  the  preservation  of  the  present  state  of 
things  ;  for  raise  the  scale  of  labor  to  the  height  that  it 
necessarily  would  be  after  emancipation,  the  cost  of  pro 
ducing  the  above  articles  would  be  as  stated,  at  lowest, 
12T9s  cents  per  Ib.  In  some  parts  it  is  even  now  6  to  7  cts. 
per  Ib.,  with  slave  labor;  therefore,  cottcn  would  cease 
to  be  planted.  Rice,  too,  would  not  only  be  unprofit 
able,  but  I  fear  the  constitution  of  the  whites  could  not 
endure  the  unhealthy  exhalations  from  the  paddy  lands. 
I  doubt  even  if  the  negro,  who  never  had  been  accus 
tomed  to  rice  planting,  would  not  suffer  greatly  from  its 
bad  effects. 


204  PRESENT   AND    FTrCRE   OF   AMERICA. 

America  holds  the  first  place  in  the  cotton  market, 
because  she  is  able  to  produce  a  cheap  article.  Raise 
the  price  of  labor  from  25  to  100  cents,  or  even  50  cents, 
and  the  expense  of  cultivation  witt  be  quadrupled,  or  at 
lowest  calculation  doubled.  The  expense  of  cotton  culti 
vation  is  now  from  5i  to  7  cents  per  Ib.  India  can  pro 
duce  her  best  cottons  equal  to  fair  New  Orleans,  and  lay 
it  down  in  Liverpool  for  7  cents  per  Ib.*  Raise  the 
expense  here  to  11  or  14  cents  per  Ib.  of  cultivation,  and 
you  would  enhance  the  price  of  Indian  cotton  to  that  or 
any  other  amount  of  increase  for  the  expense  of  cultiva 
tion  ;  therefore,  the  following  would  be  the  state  of 
things  : — 

Slave  labor  at  25  cents  a  day,  expense  of 

cotton  cultivation,  &a,  -     5£  to    7  cents  per  Ib. 

Free  labor  at  50  cents  a  day,  expense  of 

cultivation,  &c.,  -     11  to  14 

Free  labor  at  100  cents  a  day,  expense  of 

cultivation,  &c.,  -    22  to  28 

Expense  of  cultivation  and  landing  East 

India  cotton  of  fair  New  Orleans  kind 

at  Liverpool  3J,d.  per  Ib.,  or     -  7 

So  that  emancipation  of  the  slaves  at  present  would  give 
a  premium  of  100  to  400  per  cent  as  an  advance  in  price 
of  cotton,  to  planters  in  India,  in  Brazils,  and  in  Egypt. 
Can  any  man  doubt  the  result  ?  An  advance  in  price  of 
cotton  to  100  per  cent.,  or  even  50  per  cent,  above  present 
prices,  would  have  the  effect  of  stopping  half  the  cotton 
mills  all  over  the  world. 

"  The  failure  of  the  cotton  crop  in  1846  (Manchester 

See  English  Price  Currents,  or  Royle  on  Cotton  Cultivation  in  India. 


EVILS    OF    EMANCIPATION.  2l)5 

Guardian,  Jan.  23d,  1850,  see  Royle)  as  in  the  very  las* 
season,  caused  a  considerable  rise  in  the  price  of  cotton ; 
and  it  was  calculated  that  in  that  year  an  advance  in 
price  of  2d.  (four  cents)  a  pound  required  an  increased 
payment  by  this  country  of  ,£4,000,000  sterling.  In 
this  year  the  increase  in  price  has  caused  many  spinners 
and  manufacturers  of  coarse  yarns  and  heavy  goods 
either  to  stop  their  mills  or  to  work  short  time,  and,  of 
course,  to  throw  many  of  their  workmen  out  of  full  and 
regular  employment.  It  has  been  well  ascertained  that, 
with  high  prices  of  the  raw  material  the  present  enormous 
production  of  cotton  manufactories  will  not,  and  cannot, 
be  taken  off  by  the  markets  of  the  world." 

Can  any  well  disposed  American  desire  to  deprive 
America  of  fully,  if  not  more,  than  one  half  of  the  whole 
amount  of  her  exports,  $78,918,643,  and  value  of  domes 
tic  consumption  to  the  amount  of  §9,100,128  ?  And  for 
what  purpose  would  this  sacrifice  be  made  every  year  ? 
Simply  to  send  3,179,569  of  negroes  adrift  upon  the 
American  public,  without  any  provision  made  for  them. 
It  is  but  just  a  day  or  two  since  200  famishing  emigrants 
were  obliged  to  return  to  Liverpool  from  America,  be 
cause  they  could  get  no  work ;  and  Abolitionists,  without 
taking  any  thought  for  the  future  for  so  many  millions  of 
people,  wish  to  see  them  on  one  hand  deprived  of  a  com 
fortable  home,  and  at  the  same  time  on  the  other,  to  de 
prive  these  States  of  one  half  their  means  to  give  employ 
ment  to  any  body  of  people,  or  in  fact  to  support  them 
selves  ;  in  short,  to  shut  up  all  work,  and  to  put  an  end 
to  all  progress. 

But,  to  go  further  into  the  subject  in  its  economical 
bearings,  it  is  necessary  to  get  a  glimpse  at  the  actual 


206  PEESENT  AND  FUTUBE  OF  AMERICA. 

expense  a  slave  is  to  his  master.  Taking  the  value  of 
the  grain,  the  animal  diet,  £c.,  which  he  consumes,  and 
his  clothing,  to  be  50  cents  a  week  (which  I  believe  is  a 
very  moderate  calculation),*  then  as  all  slaves  cannot 
work  from  their  birth  to  the  age  of  90,  there  consequently 
must  be  a  support  allowed  for  the  two  terms  of  his  exist 
ence — viz.,  childhood  and  old  age,  for  sickness,  and  for 
one  day  in  every  seven ;  for  insurance  of  life,  for  taxes, 
and  all  the  risks  that  is  liable  to  be  encountered  by  his 
absconding,  &c.,  and  for  expenses  of  superintendence. 

From  the  "  Census  of  Charleston"  (printed  in  1849), 
an  interesting  and  valuable  work,  I  have  taken  the  fol 
lowing  : — 

The  number  of  slaves  out  of  100  who  have  died  during  the  fol 
lowing  periods  are,  viz. : — 

Died  by. 

Of  every  100  born,  there  died  before    1   year — 21.64    21.64 


from 

1 

year  to 

a 

5  years  —  16.78 

38.42 

frpm 

6 

years  to 

u 

10  years  — 

2.79 

42.21 

from 

10 

years  to 

(i 

20 

years  — 

7.52 

49.73 

from 

20 

years  to 

u 

30 

years  — 

9.13 

58.86 

from 

30 

years  to 

u 

40 

years  — 

7.94 

66.80 

from 

40 

years  to 

tt 

50 

years  — 

8.43 

75.23 

from 

60 

years  to 

tt 

60 

years  — 

6.85 

82.08 

from 

do 

years  to 

tt 

70 

years  — 

6.20 

88.28 

from 

70 

years  to 

tt 

80 

years  — 

4.82 

93.00 

from 

SO 

years  to 

It 

90 

years  — 

4.32 

97.42 

from 

90 

years  to 

It 

100 

years  — 

1.76 

99.47 

Upwards 

100 

years  — 

''  70 

99.87 

Which,  calculated  as  in  table,  will  show  that  of  the  above 

*  I  have  seen  in  the  Patent  Office  a  report,  that  the  supplies  for  a 
slave  in  Mississippi  is  25  dollars  yearly,  not  including  grain  and 
vegetables. 


SLAVE   LABOK.  207 

v 

100  negroes,  from  birth  to  their  death,  they  labored 
518,638  days  ;  the  number  of  days  supported,  1,045,732. 
Therefore,  the  days  there  would  be  work  done  are  as 
1  to  2  of  the  days  supported  :— 

Therefore,  to  2  X  50,   .  ...     1  00  cents  per  week. 

Life  assurance,  say  400  dollars  each,  at  3  )     23      " 

per  cent,  per  annum,  f 

Medical  charges,  &c.,  per  week,         .        .         7  cents  per  week. 

Total,      ......     130      " 

Or  per  day,  for  six  days  per  week,     .        .     21f  cents. 

The  expense  of  superintendence,  &c.,  will  make  it 
fully  25  cents,  or  more.  There  is  the  risk,  too,  of  slaves 
running  away.  Therefore,  in  the  due  course  of  time,  as 
the  population  increases,  and  planters  can  go  to  the 
market  and  get  laborers  when  required,  and  at  more 
reasonable  rates,  slaves  will  be  less  needed  and  less 
valued.  There  can  be  not  the  least  doubt  that  slavery, 
about  which  men  are  now  disposed  to  shed  each  other's 
blood,  and  to  exterminate  e~ach  other,  will  in  a  few  years 
assume  a  different  feature  ;  and  is  it  not  better  to  wait 
with  a  little  patience  until  labor  can  be  obtained,  than  to 
throw  the  whole  country  into  poverty  and  confusion,  and 
reduce  it  to  years  of  bloodshed  and  extermination,  that 
will  inevitably  follow  *m  violent  measures  by  aboli 
tionists  ?  Twenty  years  hence  slavery  will  be  a  thing 
very  easily  dealt  with.  At  present  there  are  but  a  few 
leading  staples  in  America  ;  &ug  to  enter  into  their  cul 


tivation,  it  is  necessary  to  retain  laborers  all  the  year 
round.  Were  there  a  greater  variety  of  products,  it 
would  widen  the  field  for  employment,  and  one  crop  would 
come  into  the  barn  before  the  other  would  be  ripe  ;  and 


208  PRESENT   AND    FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

thus  the  intermediate  time,  say,  for  instance,  between 
planting  cotton  and  in  picking  or  collecting  the  pods, 
could  be  occupied  with  other  staples.  This  cannot  be 
the  case  now,  nor  never  will,  while  America  confines  her 
self  to  cotton  and  corn,  and  pig  feeding.  There  are  no 
people  in  the  world  so  little  employed  as  the  slaves  of  the 
south,  because  of  this  state  of  things ;  and  the  man  who 
represents  them  as  hard-labored,  must  be  altogether 
ignorant  of  the  facts,  or  a  designing  fomentor  of  dis 
cord. 

In  all  the  old  countries,  India,  &c.,  slavery  is  but  a 
nominal  thing,  so  much  so,  that  it  passed  into  a  term  of 
courtesy  and  compliment — Ap  ka  golambundee  hy : 
"  Sir,  I  am  your  slave."  And  when  the  British  East 
Indian  Company  say  they  abolished  slavery  in  the  East, 
they  did  nothing  more  than  pass  an  act  against  a  term 
that  had  no  meaning.  Among  all  the  higher  classes  in 
India  to-day,  there  are  slaves — who  are  so,  willingly ;  who 
might  be  more  appropriately  called  hangers-on,  because 
they  cannot  do  better.  Slavery  is  only  necessary  or 
useful  where  labor  is  scarce.  Cheap  labor  and  slavery  are 
incompatible  in  the  same  country,  except  such  slavery, 
the  worst  of  all  slavery, — the  hard- worked,  ill  paid,  ill 
treated  servants  of  England.  Let  the  abolitionists  go  to 
England,  and  travel  through  that  country  ;  let  them 
inquire  into  the  state  of  poor  servant-maids,  shop-boys,  and 
farm-servants  there,  return  to  this  land,  and  take  a  tour 
through  the  Southern  States,  compare  the  slave's  con 
dition  with  the  servant's,  and  then  ask  themselves,  before 
God  and  their  country,  which  is  most  deserving  of  their 
help.  There  are  many  Mrs.  Birds,  and  Mrs.  and  Mr. 
Sloanes  in  England,  who  beat  and  starve  young  girls 


WHITE   SLAVERY    IX   ENGLAND.  209 

even  to  death.  Let  them,  (the  abolitionists)  look  into 
that  most  horrible,  most  disgusting  and  filthy  scene  that 
man  ever  beheld,  or  could  behold  in  no  other  country  than 
England — a  cheap  lodging-house — thousands  of  which 
are  in  London.  A  "  cheap  lodging-house"  is  a  place  of 
rest  for  the  most  miserable,  miserable  in  worldly  circum 
stances,  miserable  in  infamy  and  vice.  Poverty  and 
neglect  of  "  the  would-be  charitable,"  draw  both  the 
innocent  and  the  outcasts  of  depravity  into  the  same 
house.  The  room  of  a  "  cheap  lodging-house,"  where 
there  are  beds,  may  contain  half-a-dozen  or  more,  de 
pending  on  the  number  that  can  find  place.  The  room 
is  filthy  as  it  can  be,  the  walls  are  darkened  over  with 
bugs  and  vermin  of  all  kinds.  The  charge  for  a  night's 
lodging  may  vary  from  one  half-penny  to  two  pence  per 
night.  Those  rooms  for  one  half-penny  and  a  penny, 
have  no  beds.  , 

In  the  evenings  the  poor,  honest,  laboring  man  has  to 
return  there  when  disappointed  in  getting  employment,  no 
matter  how  virtuous  or  moral,  himself  and  his  famishing 
wife  and  little  children — they  have  no  other  refuge  from 
the  inclemency  of  a  cold  winter  night.  There  retire  the 
young  ruffians  of  London,  with  their  depraved  companions, 
whom  they  call  ""  gals,"  and  upon  whose  prostitution, 
with  that  of  their  own  and  these  young  girls'  robberies  and 
pick-pocketing,  they  live.  These  young  wretches,  young 
in  years,  some  of  them  not  more  than  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  years  of  age,  yet  old  in  vice,  keep  two  or  three 
"  gals,"  but  younger  still  there  are  of  the  most  vitiated 
habits.  There  are  the  little  children  brought  up  to 
thieve.  There  too  are  the  young  men  and  women,  wrecks 
of  vice.  There  too  drunkards,  and  every  other  species 


210  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMEEICA. 

of  depravity,  retreat.  All  there  meet  in  that  squalid 
filthy  room  ;  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls  sleep  promiscu 
ously  in  the  same  beds,  as  they  may  happen  to  get  a 
place  in  them ;  if  not,  they  stretch  themselves  under  the 
beds,  or  any  place  they  can  find  room.  A  tub  or  pail  is 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  to  which  all  resort.  The 
stench  is  sickening,  for  the  tub  remains  for  days  without 
being  emptied.  There  is  heard  the  blaspheming  of  the 
drunkard,  and  the  diabolical  language  of  depravity. 
The  keepers  of  cheap  lodgings  are  invariably 'the  receivers 
of  stolen  goods,  and  protectors  of  vice  from  pursuit  of 
police.  It  is  in  such  places  that  virtue  also  has  to  seek 
a  refuge.  And  there  the  young  are  exposed  to  the 
severest  trials,  suffering  the  direst  want,  hungry  and 
shivering,  and  without  clothes,  and  no  work  to  be  obtained. 
They  hear  stories  related  of  the  success  in  pickpocketing 
and  burglary,  and  all  other  methods  devised  by  want  and 
dishonesty  to  obtain  means  of  existence.  They  hear 
every  good  quality  jeered  at.  Death  from  starvation  is 
before  their  eyes.  Yea,  it  has  already  commenced  its 
work,  and  they  see  themselves  cadaverous,  attenuated 
shadows  of  what  they  had  been,  and  without  apparel. 
Salvation  of  their  existence  is  held  out  to  them  by  for 
saking  those  religious  principles  in  which  they  had  been 
brought  up.  There  is  no  aid,  no  help,  the  charitable 
declaimer  against  slavery  spurns  them  with  rudeness,  yea, 
I  may  say,  with  ruffian  severity,  that  could  come  but  from 
canting  hypocrisy.  Thousands  of  thousands  of  these 
poor  creatures  are  left  to  perish.  Rome,  in  its  decline, 
sold  its  children  in  the  public  market  places.  The  poor  of 
London  would  sell  their  children  and  themselves,  to 
save  themselves  from  death  and  from  infamy?  if  they 


EVILS   OF   EMANCIPATION.  211 

were  allowed  the  opportunity  to  do  so,  and  to  them  the 
state  of  slavery  would  be  the  greatest  boon.  Go,  aboli 
tionist,  and  exercise  your  humanity  and  your  love  of  free 
dom  in  England,  release  some  millions  of  people  from 
the  grasp  of  hell  and  starvation,  make  them  slaves  to 
yourselves  or  others  that  may  be  charitably  disposed  to 
receive  them  under  protection,  and  remember,  oh  re 
member  !  they  are  your  own  blood,  and  Christians,  redeem 
them,  and  God  will  crown  you  with  blessings.  Save  their 
souls.  And  when  the  English  agents  come  over  here  to 
create  political  capital  by  intefering  in  your  domestic 
institutions,  by  your  example,  show  them  the  sphere 
wherein  their  sympathies  are  required.  Leave  your 
slaves  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  home  and  means  of  support, 
until  you  can  do  better  for  them.  You  already  see  some 
of  the  States  passing  laws  prohibiting  the  freed  negro 
entrance  amongst  them.  Let  three  millions  of  people  be 
exposed  to  want,  spurned  by  most  of  the  States, — what 
can  they  do  ?  They  would  flock  to  those  States  that 
were  so  zealous  for  their  interests  ;  Boston,  New- York, 
&c.,  &c.,  would  be  inundated  with  them.  And  in  this 
city  the  abolitionist  has  only  to  wander  off  Broadway 
into  Church  street  and  its  purlieus,  and  ask  himself, 
is  this  the  place  of  the  glorious  free  negro  ?  But  let  him 
not  wait  until  dark,  for  there  the  freed  negro  and  the  in 
famous  reside.  Emancipation  would  have  the  effect  of 
extending  Church-street  over  one  fourth  of  New- York, 
and  instead  of  a  few  thousands  now  easily  controlled  from 
their  paucity  of  numbers,  after  emancipation  there  would 
be  some  50,000  or  60,000  at  least ;  their  number  and 
want  would  make  them  bold  and  daring,  and  the  muni 
cipal  taxation  would  be  three-fold  as  heavy,  to  provide 
more  police,  more  prisons,  and  support  for  prisoners,  and 


212  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

all  other  expenses  necessary — besides,  the  city  would  be 
ever  a  prey  to  sickness  and  plagues  arising  from  the 
filth  of  the  negro  part  of  the  town.  Therefore,  it  is 
necessary  for  all  Americans  to  make  preparations  before 
they  do  resolve  on  emancipation. 

THE   PEOPLE   OF   AMERICA   ANGLO-SAXONS. 

EVERY  one  who  reads  the  London  Times,  and  the 
London  journals  generally,  will  perceive  the  nattering 
unction  they  lay  to  their  souls,  that  the  Americans  are 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  the  proud  boasting  of  the  wide-spread 
of  that  race,  when,  in  fact,  the  race  is,  and  has  been, 
long  declining. 

From  the  earliest  periods,  America  has  been  a  refuge 
for  all  nations  and  races  of  Europe.  The  Spaniards  were 
the  first  who  made  their  way  to  America ;  then  followed 
the  French  and  the  Dutch.  The  English  had  not  a 
navigator  to  start  on  any  unknown  seas,  and  were  in 
debted  to  a  Venetian  for  exploring  parts  of  America  for 
them. 

Spain  colonized  South  America  and  part  of  the  South 
ern  States,  to  which  she  gave  the  general  name  of 
Florida.  The  French  colonized  the  North,  or  Canadas ; 
and,  until  a  few  years  ago,  England  found  it  necessary 
to  make  use  of  the  French  language  in  all  their  public 
documents.  The  chief  claim  of  England  is,  that  she  has 
possessed  herself  for  a  time  of  America.  This  is  the 
only  claim  she  can,  in  fact,  make ;  for  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  in  America  is  not  one  in  ten  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  Spaniards,  tha  Celts,  and  the  French  and  Ger 
mans,  are  the  people  of  America  ;  and  it  is  pretty  certain 
that  the  Celts  are  the  people  who  preponderate  in  Amer- 


ANGLO-SAXONISM   OF   AMERICA.  213 

ica.  The  political  and  religious  animosity  of  the  Saxon 
to  the  Celt  has  from  the  earliest  period  of  the  unfortunate 
entrance  of  the  Saxon'on  Irish  soil  as  rulers,  driven  them 
as  exiles  to  all  parts  of  the  Continent  of  Europe. 

In  France,  in  Austria,  and  in  all  parts  of  Spain,  are 
found  the  Celtic  Irish  race  to-day ;  and  many  of  the 
Spanish  commercial  towns  are  principally  peopled  by 
Irish,  or  Irish  descendants.  America  was  then  open  to 
them.  At  that  early  period,  when  the  Reformation  gave 
a  fresh  impetus  to  emigration  from  Ireland,  the  English 
were  little  disposed  to  emigrate.* 

Even  to-day  her  people  are  adverse  to  leave  the 
country ;  and  few  of  those  who  do  leave,  and  who  are  put 
down  as  Anglo-Saxons,  are,  in  truth,  really  so.  Extra 
ordinary  circumstances  at  times  elicit  the  truth,  such  as 
the  falling  off  of  the  population  of  Ireland  since  1840 ; 
when  the  Times  of  London  stated  that  the  emigrants  to 
America  from  England  were  Irish,  who  made  that  country 
only  a  stepping-stone  to  the  United  States. 

Even  now,  when  the  spirit  of  migration  seems  to  be 
moving  all  the  States  of  Europe,  the  Anglo-Saxons  res 
pond  not ;  they  hang  back ;  and  those  few  who  do  emi 
grate  are  of  the  middle-classes,  principally  merchants 
and  shop-keepers.  In  fact,  if  the  real  state  of  affairs 
were  known,  it  would  be  made  clear  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  is  not  at  all  on  the  increase.  The  whole 
amount  of  her  emigration  is  not  equal  to  her  immigration  ; 
and  it  may  be  said  that  some  of  her  most  populous  cities 
are  Celtinized,  if  I  may  so  speak.  There  is  no  part  of 
England  where  it  is  not  the  general  complaint,  that  the 

*  The  pilgrim  fathers  may  be  said  to  be  the  first  permanent  settlera 
of  English,  in  1620 


214  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

Irish  lower  the  price  of  labor.  Liverpool,  Manchester, 
and  Birmingham  are  instances  "where  the  very  poorest 
class  of  Irish  have  been  for  a  long  period  making  their 
way,  and  doing  all  the  hard  and  humblest  labor,  and 
from  that  position  working  up  to  the  top  of  the  ladder. 
The  Irish  of  Manchester  are,  it  may  be  said,  the  people 
of  Manchester.  In  1830,  there  were  75,000  of  Irish  in 
Liverpool ;  and  what  a  great  number  there  must  have 
arrived  since  then,  especially  as  they  raised  the  censuses 
of  Liverpool  from  1840  to  1850  to  50  per  cent.  In  Lon 
don,  Irish  and  Scotch  make  a  very  large  proportion  of  its 
inhabitants ;  and  if  all  foreigners,  and  those  of  foreign 
descent,  be  subtracted  also,  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  would 
be  probably  in  the  minority  in  that  great  city.  The 
armies  of  England,  again,  are  in  the  majority  Irish. 
The  population  of  the  Canadas  is,  to  a  very  large 
amount,  made  up  of  Irish  and  French. 

We  know  that  there  has  been  little  or  no  inducement 
to  prevail  on  the  lower  classes  of  England  to  leave  their 
homes ;  they  had  always  three  or  four  times  the  wages 
and  opportunities  that  the  Irish  had  to  make  a  livelihood 
at  home.  The  Irish,  on  the  contrary,  never  could  get 
daily  employment  in  Ireland,  arising  from  the  embar 
rassed  position  of  the  landed  proprietors,  many  of  whom 
were  Englishmen,  who  never  visited  the  country,  and  who 
not  unfrequently  mortgaged  their  Irish  estates  to  supply 
every  pressing  demand,  while  their  English  estates  they 
fostered  and  improved.  The  proprietors  of  the  soil  were 
also  universally  in  religion  adverse  to  their  tenantry,  and 
were  aliens  to  them.  In  the  majority  of  cases  they  were 
the  troopers  of  Cromwell,  &c.  These  causes  forced  the 
poor,  unprotected,  persecuted  Irish  from  their  shores. 


EMIGKATION   FKOM   GKEAT   BKITAIX.  215 

They  lowered  the  price  of  labor  in  England ;  they  were 
everywhere  in  the*  Englishman's  way,  and  the  English 
hated  them,  and  at  the  same  time  feared  them.  America 
became  the  Irishman's  home.  On  her  soil,  and  under 
her  mild  laws,  the  persecuted,  despised,  maligned  Irish 
man  raised  himself  to  the  first  rank;*  and  the  second 
generation  held  their  head  high  in  all  things  connected 
with  American  matters.  On  their  arrival  in  America, 
they  lived  in  the  poorest  places,  often  in  places  where 
the  infamous  resorted ;  they  labored  hard,  economized, 
and,  with  a  generous  heart,  gave  their  hard-earned 
savings  to  their  relatives,  to  enable  them  to  leave  a  land 
crushed  by  oppressions  of  a  profligate  and  dishonest  aris 
tocracy,  who  were  aliens  to  them  and  their  country. 

Hence  it  was  that  the  poorest  Irish  were  provided  the 
means  of  emigrating  to  a  happier  land  and  an  honest 
people  ;  while  the  poor  of  England  had  neither  the  same 
reasons  to  flee  their  home,  nor  the  means  to  emigrate. 
Neither  have  the  same  class  of  people  the  same  enter 
prise  that  the  Irish  have ;  and  instances  of  this  may  be 
produced  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cases,  where  Irish 
men  get  as  much  money  as  pay  their  passage  to  Amer 
ica,  and  live  on  the  poor,  and  even  unhealthy,  diet  sup 
plied  to  them  on  board  ship,  and  are  set  down  at  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  &c.,  without  a  cent  to  get  a 
night's  lodging.  It  is  not  only  men  who  are  so  situated, 
but  even  poor  girls,  who  never  before  saw  aught  of  the 

*  The  Irish  were  the  first,  or  at  least  amongst  the  first,  to  promote 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  cloths  from  American  cotton.  As  early  at* 
1790,  we  find  that  the  Irish  had  been  supplying  a  large  portion  of  the 
surrounding  country  by  a  manufactory  established  by  them  near 
Murray's  ferry,  in  Williamsburg. 


216  PKESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMEK1CA. 

world  beyond  the  landmark  of  their  village  and  parish 
chapel.  This  will  be  better  substantiated  by  the  follow 
ing  article  from  the  London  Times  : 

[From  the  "London  Times*  Oct.  7^,  1851.] 

"  The  Celtic  exodus  continues  to  be  the  marvel  of  the 
day.  From  morning  to  night,  from  the  arrival  of  the 
first  trains  before  day  break  to  the  last  which  reaches  in 
the  evening,  nothing  scarcely  is  seen  along  the  splendid 
quays  which  adorn  Dublin,  but  the  never-ending  stream 
of  immigrants,  flying  as  if  from  pestilence,  to  seek  the 
means  of  existence,  which  their  own  inhospitable  land 
denies  to  labor ;  and  the  modest  ambition  to  live  and  die 
beyond  the  gloomy  precincts  of  the  Irish  workhouse. 
Numbers  of  these  adventurers  are  of  the  better  class  of 
farmers,  and  appear  to  lack  none  of  the  appliances  re 
quisite  towards  the  bettering  of  their  condition  at  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic ;  a  healthy  and  more  than  comely 
progeny,  a  good  supply  of  the  most  requisite  articles  of 
furniture  and  clothing,  with  some  small  capital  to  com 
mence  operations.  The  majority,  however,  have  no  such 
advantages  to  boast  of;  for  a  more  miserable,  sickly 
looking,  and  poverty  stricken  set  of  creatures  it  would  be 
impossible  to  imagine ;  even  hundreds  of  them — men, 
women  and  children — being  unprovided  with  shoes  to 
their  feet,  and  the  females  with  no  better  covering  to 
their  heads  than  the  commonest  cotton  handkerchiefs  in 
lieu  of  bonnets,  while  not  one  in  fifty  could  lay  claim  to 
the  luxury  of  a  cloak  as  a  protection  against  the  inclem 
ency  of  the  coming  winter.  All  hardships  appear  as 
nothing,  so  that  the  one  great  end  may  be  achieved — 


EMIGRATION   FKOM   GKEAT   BK1TA1X.  217 

flight  from  the  British  shores  ;  no  matter  at  what  risk  or 
with  what  amount  of  danger  and  privation  in  perspective. 
Day  after  day  vessels  leave  this  port  freighted  with 
human  cargoes,  without  any  diminution  being  perceptible 
in  the  throngs  of  peasantry  which  swarm  the  streets  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  quays. 

The  rush,  too,  from  the  South  is  rather  on  the  increase 
than  otherwise,  and  is  on  a  far  more  extensive  scale 
than  we  in  the  metropolis  have  any  idea.  On  Saturday 
a  steamer  left  Waterford  for  Liverpool  with  nearly  400 
immigrants  on  board.  The  day  was  intensely  severe, 
but  wind  and  weather,  be  they  what  they  may,  have  no 
terrors  for  these  voluntary  exiles.  The  average  number 
from  Waterford  alone,  since  the  season  set  in,  is  500 
weekly." 

These  people  worked  and  rose  in  the  scale  of  society  ; 
and  day  after  day  American  money  flowed  into  Ireland,* 
and  Irish  emigrants  sought  these  shores.  America 
prospered  ;  and  the  English  now  turn  round,  and  are  but 
too  happy,  even  at  the  expense  of  truth,  to  put  down,  not 
only  the  Irish  emigrants  from  English  ports  as  Anglo- 
Saxons,  but  to  represent  the  whole  of  the  Irish  as  British 
emigrants,  by  carefully  avoiding  to  note  or  classify 
those  who  do  leave  the  British  or  Irish  shores. 

Taking  another  view  of  the  case  :  the  whole  world  has 
heard  of  the  powers  of  the  Irish  to  propagate  their  species. 
Many  have  been  the  nostrums  put  forward  by  the  people 

*  The  amount  of  money  sent  to  Ireland  is  enormous,  through  the 
Catholic  clergy  and  Agency  Houses.  "  One  agent  in  the  city  of  Cork 
has  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  £1,000  in  one  day  from  America." — 
London  Times,  Oct.  8/A,  1851. 


218  PBESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMElilCA. 

of  England  to  prevent  the  over  increase,  by  preventing 
early  marriages,  and  marriages  of  poor  people.  All 
England  echoed,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  with  decla 
mations  against  Irish  procreative  powers,  and  the  misery 
it  entailed  on  Ireland.  If  the  Condon  Times,  and  leading 
English  statesmen,  were  correct,  what  has  become  of 
that  increase  in  the  population  ?  Let  them  take  a 
glance  at  the  census  for  the  last  50  years. 

Kngland.  Ireland.  England.          Ireland. 

1810  8,331,434  5,191,240 

1811  9,538,827  5,637,856,*  inerease  per  cent,  14|          8g 
1821  11,261,437  6,801,827,         "  "  19}        20£ 
1831  13,091,005  7,767,401,         "                        1G£       14| 
1841  16,995,508  8,175,124,         "                        14T\        5] 
185116,594,275  6.515,794,         "                          11  deer.  25* 

The  increase  of  20  per  cent,  is  but  a  moderate  in 
crease.  What  then  has  become  of  that  ever  dreaded  mul 
tiplication  of  the  Irish  ?  It  is  to  be  found  in  England — 
in  Birmingham,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  London,  and 
throughout  the  whole  of  England  ;  in  Glasgow,  and  in 
all  the  towns  in  the  British  empire. f  Then,  what  is  be 
come  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ?  Their  increase  is  below 
par,  and  very  much  so  ;  and  if  the  Irish  be  substracted,  if 
the  Scotch  also  be  deducted,  and  foreigners,  then,  let  me 
ask,  what  has  become  of  the  increase  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  1  The  Irish  can  be  found.  There  are  millions  of 
them  and  their  descendants  in  England.  They  are  to 
be  found  in  British  America,  in  the  United  States  :  where 


*  5,937,856,  census  of  1812. 

f  7,000,000  are  computed  to  be  in  America  by  Mr.  Robinson. 


EMIGRATION   FROM  GREAT   BRITAIN.  219 

is  the  English  population?  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  United  States  authorities  have  been  so  neglectful  in 
keeping  returns  of -all  classes  of  people  immigrating  into 
this  country.  There  are  hardly  any  returns,  and  what 
there  are,  are  vague  and  unsatisfactory. 

The  arrivals  of  immigrants  at  New  York  for  1848, 
were — 

Irish,  .  .  .  98,061 

Germans,  .  .  .  51,976 

English,  .  .  .  23,062 

Making  with  immigrants  from  all 

other  places,  .  .  .  189,176 

The  arrivals  at  New  York  for  1849— 

Irish,  .  .  112,691 

Germans,  .  .  >  55,700 

English,  .  .  .  28,320 

The  arrivals  at  New  York  for  1850— 

Irish,  .  .  .  116,583 

Germans,  .  .  .  45,404 

English,  .  .  .  28,131 

These  tables  will  show  to  which  race  the  United  States 
are  indebted  for  their  great  increase  in  population,  and 
will  show  how  little  it  is  in  keeping  with  the  real  facts  of 
the  case,  to  represent  the  people  of  the  United  States  as 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  inasmuch  as  they  are  not  one  in 
ten. 

Again,  the  whole  amount  of  emigrants  from  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  during  the  same  years,  to  all  places, 
was  as  follows  : — 


220         PRESENT    AND    FUTURE    OF    AMERICA. 


British  Poss 

1848,  248,089  of  these     31,065 

1849,  299,489         "          41,365 

1850,  280,436         "          32,965 


U.  States.  Australia,     ko. 
214,283  28,791 

219,450  38,681 

223,078  24,810 


Total,    828,014 


105,395 


656,811 


92,282 


The  number  of  emigrants  to  the  British  possessions  iu 
America,  bear,  if  not  a  greater  proportion,  at  least  an 
equal  one,  of  Irish  emigrants,  as  the  numbers  of  Irish  to 
New  York  does.  The  emigrants  to  Australia  of  farmers 
from  Ireland,  preponderate  equally  over  the  British  and 
Scotch. 

It  is  found  that  in  throe  years  alone,  out  of  25  years 

of  returns,  there  are  of  Irish  to  New  York,  .  337,335 

Say  the  Irish  were  in  the  same  ratio  to  the  British 
Possessions.  English  to  New  York,  79,513 ;  Irish, 
337,335;  or  say  ™v  were  English,  ffi  Irish,*  .  85,383 

Say  the  total  emigration  from  Great  Britain  and  Ire 
land  for  the  prior  22  years,  to  be  as  per  returns, 
1,794,181  ¥\9¥,  of  which  were  English  and  Scotch, 
|f|  Irish,  or  ~TV"  1,453,700 

Total  Irish  to  all  America  for  25  years,  .  .      1,870,413 

Total  emigrants  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to 

America,  ....  ^.  2,325,026 

Total  English,  Scotch  and  Welsh  emigrants,  in  25 

years,  to  America,  .  .  «,  .•:«.„.  ,- •.  455,616 

British  and  Irish  emigrants  to  all  parts  of  the  world 
241,007.  Say  there  was  a  less  ratio  of  Irish,  or  13 
English.  Total  English,  Scotch  and  Welsh  to  all 
other  parts  in  25  years,  '  i'; i  1  *•*'  i-'^-i  -  .•;  80,335 

*  Census  of  1844  shows  the  population  of  Lower  Canada  at  690,782 
(making  an  increase  of  178,863  since  1832)  of  whom  524,307  are  of 
French  origin,  11,895  natives  of  England,  43,892  of  Ireland,  13,393  of 
Scotland,  85,660  natives  of  Canada,  of  British  and  Irish  extraction, 
and  1329  natives  of  Europe. 


EMIGRATION   FKOM   GREAT  BRITAIN.  221 

Total  English,  Scotch  and  Welsh  to  all  parts  for  25 

yeaqj,  .         "".'.'.        .    '.        .  '•"*          -        535,951 

Total  Irish  to  America  for  25  years,   .  ...  .-         ,      1,876,413 

Total  Irish  to  all  other  parts,  .  .         ,'  '\  ''•     160,672 

Total  Irish  to  all  other  parts  for  25  years,  not  includ 
ing  those  to  England,          .  "v-*"        .  .      2,037,085 

Let  us  return  to  Ireland,  and  philosophically  inquire 
what  amount  of  the  inhabitants  did  leave  their  homes,  and 
if  that  number  or  more  did  really  emigrate  where  they 
are  to  be  found. 

It  would  be  well  for  poor  humanity  that  there  were  no 
classification  of  the  human  family,  and  that  we  could 
look  upon  each  other  as  the  children  from  the  loins  of  one 
father,  and  from  the  womb  of  one  mother,  and  that  we 
could  act  so  to  each  other  as  afiec donate  children  of  our 
first  progenitor.  But  alas  !  Cain  slew  Abel,  and  since 
then,  nationally  as  individually,  we  are  doing  little  more 
than  slaying  each  other.  But  if  the  poor  Irish  strive  to 
rise  even  to  the  scale  of  equality,  or  even  ask  justice, 
England  strikes  them  low.  And  when  under  the  wise  and 
humane  Government  of  this  great  and  glorious  Republic 
Irishmen  raise  themselves,  and  act  the  part  of  good,  honest, 
and  industrious  citizens,  England  endeavors  to  make  it 
appear  that  they  are  Anglo-Saxons.  But  truth  before 
vanity,  facts  before  prejudice.  Let  us  kindle  the  fire 
for  the  weird  beldames — national  hatred  and  religious  in 
tolerance — let  us  in  all  cases  have  the  truth.  If  the 
Irish  have  greater  procreative  powers  than  the  English, 
let  us  know  the  fact,  and  ascertain  the  causes,  because 
two  agents  tend  to  the  multiplication  of  the  human  race — 


222  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

health  of  the  body,  and  temperance  alias  morality.  If  the 
truth  be  disguised,  the  preacher  or  the  philosopher*  anno  t 
howl  vice  from  behind  the  cloak  of  falsehood,  and  show 
to  man  its  debasing,  exterminating  effects.  Therefore, 
without  prejudice,  for  truth's  s^tke,  let  us  consider  this 
matter. 

The  English  Commissioners'  Report  represent  only 
2,371,600  emigrants  as  having  left  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  during  twenty -five  years  for  America,  and 
251,017"  for  all  other  parts  of  the  world,  making  together, 
emigrants  to  all  parts  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
2,622,617. 

Now,  as  stated,  we  know  England  grumbled  like  a 
bear  with  a  sore  head,  to  use  a  common  phrase,  at  the 
vast  increase  of  the  Irish. 

The  population  of  Ireland  was,  in  1811,  computed  at 
5,637,856.*  During  ten  years,  from  1811  to  1821,  the 
increase  was  20?  per  cent.  England  increased  in  that 
time  191  per  cent.  Therefore  the  Irish  must  increase 
more  than  20 1  per  cent.  Religious  intolerance,  poverty 
and  enterprise  drove  many  from  Ireland  to  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Say  her  increase  was  25  per  cent. ;  England 
that  ten  years  increased  largely  beyond  her  usual  rate 
prior  to  that  date  as  well  as  subsequently,  viz  :  to 
19j  per  cent,  which  could  only  be  owing  to  immigration 
from  Ireland — and  during  that  time  the  emigrants  from 
Ireland  must  be  as  follows  :  Calculating  the  increase  of 
Irish  at  only  25  per  cent.,  (instead  of  35  per  cent.,)f 

*  In  1812  it  was  by  census  5,937,856. 

f  London  journals  make  it  35  per  cent.    See  Merchants'  Maga 
zine  of  New  York, 


EMIGRATION   FROM   GREAT  BRITAIN.  223 

45  per  cent,  emigrated — or  say  from  1811  to  1821,  Irish 
emigrants,  251,965. 

In  1821,  the  population  in  Ireland  was  6,801,627 — 
and  in  1831  was  7,767,401,  showing  an  increase  of 
14i  per  cent.,  allowing  for  the  whole  increase  only  20 
per  cent,  instead  of  the  statement  that  it  had  been  35 
per  cent.,  the  ten  years  prior,  this  would  show  that 
51  per  cent,  emigrated,  or  414,496. 

For  1831,  the  population  in  Ireland  was  7,767,401— 
and  in  1841,  8,175,124 — showing  an  increase  of  5?  per 
cent,  only — calculating  the  natural   increase  at  20  per 
cent,  it  would  show  that  14?  emigrated,  or  1,145,697. 

For  1841,  the  population  in  Ireland  was  8,175,124 — 
and  in  1851,  6,515,794 — showing  a  decrease  of  about  20 
per  cent. — calculating  the  increase  as  usual  at  20  per 
cent,  up  to  1845  prior  to  the  famine,  the  population  in 
that  year  would  be  8,992,636,  in  1850,  of  that  number 
only  6,515,794  remained.  Therefore  more  than  2,476,842 
souls  disappeared  from  Ireland  (there  must  be  some 
births  in  '46,  '47  and  '48)  then  in  1849  and  '50  there 
must  be  an  increase  say  at  the  rate  of  2  per  cent,  for  two 
years — now  in  this  decade  1,684,892  emigrated  from 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  of  that  number  there  has  been 
returned  as  Irish  1,100,000;  and  of  the  584,471  the 
London  Times  says  "many  thousands  were  Irish;" 
which  must  be  the  case,  as  it  is  well  known  the  majority 
of  the  emigrants  from  England  are  Irish  and  Irish  de 
scendants. 

Therefore,  say  of  the  1,684,892,  there  were  of  Irish 
1,263,169 — this  number  would  be  in  proportion  to  the 
ratio  of  Irish  and  to  the  English  who  emigrated  for  the 
last  years  to  New  York.  Well,  beyond  this  number,  we 


224  PRESENT  ANT)  FUTURE   OF  AMERICA. 

know  Liverpool  increased  50  per  cent,  in  the  last  ten 
years  (the  increase  of  London  is  on  the  average  25  per 
cent,  yearly  for  the  last  forty  years,  but  in  the  last  de 
cade  it  was  only  17£  per  cent)  and  say  5  per  cent,  of  that 
were  immigrants  from  foreign  or  from  the  country 
districts  of  England,  it  would  give  12  J  per  cent.*  There 
fore  Liverpool  at  the  same  rate  would  leave  37f  per  cent, 
of  immigration,  and  of  that  at  least  33  per  cent,  was 
from  Ireland,  or  86,805  souls.  Say  therefore  of  the 
1,684,898  emigrants  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
that  there  were  of  them  from  Great  Britain  as  163  is  to 
680  Irish,  or  Irish  emigrants,  from  1840  to  '50, 1,281,015. 
Irish  emigrants  to  Liverpool,  86,805.  Say  Irish  emi 
grants  to  all  other  parts  of  England  at  least  two  to  one 
for  those  who  remained  in  Liverpool,  say  173,610. 
Total  emigrants  from  Ireland  from  1840  to  1850, 
1,541,430. 

There  are  pretty  certain  data  for  this  calculation,  and 
it  shows  that  there  were  beyond  the  usual  proportionate 
number  of  casualties,  935,412  souls  destroyed  by  famine 
and  its  concomitant  diseases. 

From  the  foregoing  calculation  it  would  stand  thus  : 

That  from  1811  to  '21  Irish  emigrants  were  251,965 

1821  to  '31         "                    "  414,496 

1831  to '41         "                    "    -  1,145,697 

"        1841  to '51        "                   "  -              1,541,430 


Total  emigration  from  Ireland  for  forty  years        -         3,353,588 
Say  for  twenty-five  years        -  2,901,573 

Total  emigration  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland    -         2,622,617 

Showing  that  England  received  from  Ireland  more  im- 

*  The  whole  increase  of  England,  not  including  Scotland  and  Wales, 
was  but  11  per  cent. 


EMIGRATION   FROM   GREAT 'BRITAIN.  225 

migrants  than  all  that  emigrated  from  her  of  English, 
Scotch  and  Welsh,  to  the  amount  of  278,956. 

So  that  the  Irish,  at  the  same  time  they  are  computed 
at  7,000,000  in  America,  are  also  displacing  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  in  England. 

We  .can  see,  that  from  1830  to  1840,  emigrants  from 
Great  Britain,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  as  per  Commissioners' 
Report,  were  140,830. 

From  1840  to  '50,  the  a  London  Times"  states,  in  a 
vague  manner,  viz.,  of  1,684,892  that  emigrated,  1,100,000 
emigrated  from  Ireland  alone,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that, 
of  the  remaining  500,000,  many  thousands  were  Irish. 
Say  the  "Times"  meant  by  many  thousands  some  100,000 ; 
but  the  emigration  to  New- York  shows  the  Irish  were  as 
337  to  79,  or  very  probably  more.  English  were  ¥7T9^,  of 
1,684,892,  leaving  of  English  and  Scotch,  &c.,  say, 
320,000. 

Say,  for  the  five  years  prior  to  1830,  total  emigrants 
from  the  United  Kingdom  were  177,991 — say  one  fourth 
were  from  Great  Britain,  44,500. 

Total  emigrants  from  Great  Britain  for  twenty-five 
years,  505,330. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Scotch  are  a  more  enter 
prising  race  than  the  English,  therefore,  deduct  one  fourth 
for  that  branch  of  the  Gaelic  or  Celtic  race  of  Scotland — 
126,440. 

Total  emigrants  for  England  and  Wales  in  twenty-five 
years,  378,890.  Therefore,— 

Irish  emigrants,  .  .  .     3,353,588 

Scotch,   .....        126,440 

Total,  Scotch  and  Irish,  .  .    3,480,028 

Against  English  and  Welsh,      /   '        .       378,890 


226  PKESENT  AND  FUTUKE   OF  AMERICA. 

Not  as  one  is  to  eight  of  the  Celtic  race. 
We  see  by  returns  of  immigrants  into  New- York,  for 
1848,  '49,  and  '50,  the  number  was  as  follows  : 

To  New- York.    To  rest  of  America. 
1848— Irish,  .  .      98,061        .     62,995 

Germans,      .        ..  v    «51,973  « 

English,        .  .       23,062) 

From  all  other  places,     16,080  J 

1849— Irish,  .  .  112,691    .     .     40,360 

G-ermans,  .  .  55,700 

English,  .  .  28,321  1 

Scotch,  .  .  8,470   L    .     13,563 

Welsh,  .  .  1,782  J 

1850— Irish,  .  '  .  116,583    .     .    86,307 

Germans,  .  .  45,404 

English,  .  .  28,131  1 

Scotch,  .  .  6,771   I     .  26,727 

Welsh,  .  >.  1,520  J 

This  will  fully  show  the  claims  of  different  parties  to 
call  Americans  after  themselves.  Surely  %the  claim  of 
England  is  preposterous. 

The  foregoing  will  show,  that  the  emigration  from 
Ireland  to  England  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  was 
1,058,298  ;  besides  the  Scotch  and  other  people  from  the 
Continent  of  Europe. 

And  if  to  this  number  of  immigrants  be  added  those 
of  the  Irish  race  in  England  prior  to  1825,  and  their  de 
scendants,  it  would  be  found  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  will  be 
seriously  reduced. 

I  will  further  enter  into  this  matter,  and  show,  by  follow 
ing  data  from  the  best  available  authorities,  the  different 


COLONIZATION   OF   AMERICA.  227 

periods  of  the  first  settlements  in  America ;  of  the  Dutch, 
English,  and  French  in  these  States  and  North  America. 

1494.  Henry  VII.  granted  a  commission  to  John  Cabot, 
a  Venetian,  and  his  son,  to  navigate  all  parts  of 
the  ocean. 
John  Cabot  discovered  Newfoundland. 

1497.  John  Cabot  died.     His  son  made  Labrador. 

1498.  Florida  was  discovered. 

1502.  Young  Cabot  entered  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
1518.  Martin   Frobisher   sailed    to   discover   a  N.  W. 
passage,  and  reached  Labrador. 

1534.  Jacques  Cartier,  from  France,  made  the  Gulf  of 

St.  Lawrence. 

1535.  Jacques  Cartier  sailed  up  the  river  St.  Lawrence, 

and  wintered  in  Canada. 

From  Cabot's  time  to  1579,  England  neglected  her 
discoveries,  except  that  a.  few  fishermen  remained 
on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland. 

1579.  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  made  a  voyage,  but  re 

turned,  himself  and  his  people. 

1580.  He  made  a  second  attempt,  and  he  and  all  his 

people  perished. 
1585.  First  English  settlement  under  Sir  Richard  Gren- 

ville   was   made   at   Roanoke,   many  of  whom 

perished,  and  the  remainder  returned  to  England. 

To  find  gold  was  their  object. 
1587.  Sir  R.  Grenville  set  out  a  second  time,  and  settled 

fifty  men  in  the  deserted  settlement. 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  sent  out  Governor  White,  who, 

on   his   arrival   in  Virginia,  found  Grenville's 

colony  destroyed,  either  by  famine  or  by  savages. 

Gov.  White  left  175  men. 


228  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

1590.  Grenville  returned  to  Virginia,  and  found  the 
whole  colony  exterminated. 

1602.  There  was  no  European  in  all  America.  (Mr. 
Macgregor  must  have  meant  no  Englishman,  as 
there  were  thousands  of  Spaniards  and  others 
from  the  Continent  in  Sbuth  America.) 

1604.  De  Monts  sailed  from  St.  Malos,  and  established 
a  small  colony  in  North  America. 

1607.  The  London  Company  sent  three  vessels,  accom 
panied  by  Mr.  Percy,  who  formed  the  first  per 
manent  establishment  on  James  River,  with  104 
persons. 

The  Plymouth  Company  sent  two  ships  to  N.  Vir 
ginia,  with  one  hundred  planters  ;  forty-five  only 
remained. 

The  settlement  at  James  Town  was  settled  in 
April ;  was  greatly  reduced  by  Sept.  following, 
owing  to  their  bad  conduct  to  the  Indians ;  but 
were  reinforced  by  120  persons,  principally  gold 
seekers  and  refiners,  and  ruined  gentlemen. 

1609.  Lord  de  la  Warre  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
colony,  and  was  sent  out  with  500  emigrants  in 
nine  ships.  This  colony  turned  cannibals,  eat 
ing  themselves  and  Indians,  whom  they  shot, 
and  were  reduced  to  sixty,  and  finally  the  estab 
lishment  was  given  up. 

Same  year  one  hundred  planters,  under  Henry 
and  Raleigh  Pophams,  were  sent  out  to  Sagada- 
hoc,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec.  Most  of 
them  died,  and  the  colony  was  given  up. 

This  will  sufficiently  show  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  are 


COLONIZATION   OF   AMERICA.  229 

not  people  suited  to  colonization.  Australia  was  colonized 
by  Irish  transported  there  for  crimes,  or  imputed  crimes. 
"  The  hatred  of  arbitrary  power,  in  political  or  religious 
form,  was  certainly  the  predominant  cause  of  the  emigra 
tion  that  peopled  Anglo- America.  Its  rapid  settlement 
was  caused  in  a  much  greater  degree  by  the  persecution 
and  disabilities  which  drove  Puritans  to  New-England, 
Quakers  to  Pennsylvania,  and  Catholics  to  Maryland, 
than  by  the  spirit  of  adventure." — MACGREGOR. 

Therefore,  too,  all  know  the  unfortunate  persecution 
against  the  Irish,  from  the  commencement  of  the  Re 
formation. 

1614.  The  Dutch  colonized  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 
1620.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  established  themselves  in 

Massachusetts  Bay. 
1606.  The    French    established    themselves    in    Nova 

Scotia. 

1608.  The  French  established  themselves  in  Canada. 
1628.  The  next  new  establishment  was  made  by  John 

Endicott  and  his  wife. 
u      A  settlement  was  formed  in  Carolina. 
1633.  Lord  Baltimore  commenced  colonizing  Maryland, 

having  some  time  prior  established  the  colony  of 

Avalon  and  Ferryland. 

1635.  A  colony  was  established  in  Rhode  Island. 
1664.         Do.  do.          in  New-Jersey. 

1669.         Do.  do.          in  South  Carolina. 

Slavery  was  introduced,  it  is  said,  in  1620,  in  South 

Carolina. 
1682.  Wm.  Penn  arrived  in  Pennsylvania. 


230  PRESENT  AND   FUTURE   OF  AMERICA. 


THE   UNITED   STATES7   PLACE   IN  AMERICA. 

The  population  of  all  America  may  be  from  55,000,000 
to  60,000,000 ;  that  of  the  United  States  is  now  up 
wards  of  23,000,000.  The  States  are  central,  local,  and 
self-governed. 

The  United  States'  area  is  2,081,759,000  acres. 

The  area  of  the  whole  of  North  America  is     4,736,000,000     " 

"          "  "        South  America  "     4,160,000,000     " 

Population  of  the  British  Possessions,  -  2,900,000 

"  United  States,  23,267,500 

"  South  America,  33,000,000 

The  United  States  will  have  to  do  with  both  North 
and  South.  They  cannot  -mark  their  boundaries  and 
say — Thus  far  we  go,  and  no  farther ;  such  resolve  could 
not  be  adhered  to.  The  Canadas,  or  British  America,  arp 
under  a  foreign  government  controlling  French  and  Irish, 
two  races  equally  hostile  to  England.  It  is  against  the 
nature  of  things  that  that  government  can  long  exist. 
The  South,  it  may  be  said,  has  only  governments  that 
would  suit  the  sixteenth  century,  or  the  Nipon  Islands 
in  the  Japanese  Sea ;  and  simply  because  that  state  of 
things  cannot  last,  the  United  States  cannot  stand  still. 
Progress  must  be  the  order  of  the  day, — unless  designing 
knavish  demagogues  divide  and  subdivide  this  Union 
into  miserable  paltry  governments,  when,  in  such  events, 
the  debris  of  these  glorious  States  will  become  the  con 
tempt  and  prey  of  vagabonds  and  pirates.  Disunionists 
and  abolitionists  are  the  poisonous  reptiles  that  lie  hid  in 
the  grass ;  both  must  be  exterminated,  must  be  rooted 


POSITION   OF  THE    UNITED  STATES.  231 

out,  and  this  great  continent  become  one  family  govern 
ing  themselves  by  Christian  doctrines.  Love  God  above 
all  things,  and  your  neighbor  as  yourselves.  Agricul 
turists  must  manage  their  affairs,  and  communicate  with 
each  other  through  agricultural  societies — mechanics 
through  their  societies,  and  merchants  through  their 
chambers.  And  the  necessary  union  and  dependence  of 
each  society  on  the  other  must  be  freely  acknow 
ledged.  We  all  know  the  first  rudiment  of  prosperity 
is  the  fecundity  of  the  soil ;  THAT  is  THE  ROOT — and 
if  insecurity,  arising  from  want  of  due  protection,  or 
from  anarchy  arising  from  agitators,  or  invasion  of  bar 
barians,  interrupts  its  taking  deep  hold  on  a  mighty  con 
tinent  like  that  of  America,  the  whole  fabric  of  society 
must  fall  to  the  ground.  EVERY  MAN  MUST  GOVERN 

HIMSELF,  AND  MUST  ON  ALL  OCCASIONS  BE  PREPARED  TO 
MAKE  A  GENEROUS  AND  NOBLE  SACRIFICE  TO  THE  WELL- 
BEING  OF  SOCIETY.  If  not,  a  government  will  govern 
him  with  a  despotic  sway,  and  he  will  be  but  a  serf — 
biting  and  foaming  in  the  irons  that  bind  and  goad  him. 
Be  not  mistaken,  Americans.  God  rules  all ;  and  the  man 
that  accepts  not  him  as  his  God  and  his  Ruler,  will  be  a 
servant  of  servants.  Those  writers,  who  have  their  ex 
perience  or  knowledge  from  the  class  of  books  they  read, 
will  write  only  from  that  class  of  books — and  are  imbued 
only  with  their  principles,  except  where  a  holy  reverence 
animates  them.  And  as  such,  a  Gibbon,  a  Bolingbroke,  a 
Hume,  and  others,  may  sneer  at  great  truths ;  but  the 
men  who  would  go  over  this  globe  of  ours  must  cast  aside 
their  miserable  theories,  and  bow  to  an  Almighty  Benevo 
lent  Power,  whose  designs  we  ourselves  frustrate.  "  Give 
us  a  king,3'  cried  the  Jews — and  God  said,  "  Samuel,  give 


232  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

them  a  king,  for  they  Lave  not  rejected  thee,  but  me." 
And— "  This  shall  be  the  right  of  the  king.  *  *  He 
shall  take  your  sons  and  put  them  in  his  chariots,  and 
will  make  them  his  horsemen,  and  his  running  footmen 
to  run  before  his  chariot ;  and  take  your  fields,  and  your 
vineyards,  and  your  best  olive-yards,  and  give  them  to 
his  servants.  Moreover,  he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your 
corn,  and  the  revenue  of  your  vineyards  to  give  to  his 
eunuchs  and  servants  ;  your  servants  also,  and  "your 
handmaids,  and  your  goodliest  young  men,  and  your 
asses,  he  will  take  away  and  put  them  to  his  work." 
How  truly  this  is  the  case,  the  traveller  may  see ;  there 
is  no  one  item  of  that  prophecy  that  has  not  been  ful 
filled.  All  kings  and  governments  are  evils  inflicted  on 
us  for  our  want  of  resolve  to  govern  ourselves  individual 
ly  ;  and  who  that  considers  these  States  divided  into  four 
or  five  governments,  but  will  acknowledge  that  each 
government  would  be  a  curse,  as  above  prophesied  1  for 
each  government  would  necessarily  be  separate  and  di 
vided  in  interest,  and  all  sources  would  be  exhausted 
to  give  them  strength.  The  weakness  of  the  one  would 
place  it  at  the  mercy  of  the  other,  and  jealousy  and 
strife  would  exterminate  a  people  now  too  happy  and 
prosperous  to  bend  their  knee  to  the  Author  of  their 
being,  and  acknowledge  with  thankfulness  their  happy 
condition.  If  men  will  be  considerate  to  each  other,  and 
will  consider  the  general  good,  and  live  in  unity  and  har 
mony  with  each  other,  the  movement  of  America  must 
be  onward,  a-nd  the  government  and  people  must  prepare 
for  a  state  of  things  hardly  to  be  conceived,  and  never 
equalled  in  the  pages  of  history — a  united  people,  em 
bracing  an  extent  of  surface  unparalleled  ;  even  now,  with 


POSITION   OF  THE   UNITED  STATED.  233 

the  exception  of  Russia,  it  is  greater  than  that  possessed 
by  any  existing  government.  In  the  Western  States 
rapid  progress  will  be  made — a  trade  unparalleled  with 
China  and  Australia,  &c.,  will  spring  up — while  the  East 
will  traffic  with  Europe,  Africa,  &c.  Therefore  let  the 
United  States  remember  she  has  but  a  handful  of  people, 
and  not  sufficient  means  profitably  to  employ  even  them. 
Let  her  remember  that  her  cities  take  up  nearly,  if  not 
fully  three  millions  of  the  twenty-three  millions  of  her 
population  ;  that  she  has  barely  twenty  millions  of  a 
productive  population — I  mean  by  productive,  those  who 
raise  commodities  for  consumption  and  for  export,  and 
manufacturers  who  enhance  the  value  of  such  commodi 
ties. 

It  has  been  shown  that  there  is  an  area  of  89^  acres 
to  each  individual,  and  if  some  2,500,000  citizens  be 
deducted  from  the  23,267,500,  there  would  be  but 
20,767,500  ;  and  say  of  that  number  there  be  one  in 
every  six  an  able-bodied  agricultural  laborer,  it  leaves 
only  some  3,462.000*  to  till  an  area  of  2,081,759,000 
acres,  or  one  man  to  till  and  house  his  produce  to  every 
600  acres.  If 'this  be  the  state  of  things,  can  it  be  said 
that  the  United  States  are  preparing  for  the  great  events 
before  them  1  Can  one  man  cultivate  600  acres  of  land, 
and  make  it  productive  ?  Yet  however  absurd  this  ques 
tion  is,  there  are  men  who  say  we  have  too  many  immi 
grants,  even  while  the  whole  area  of  the  United  States 
is,  I  may  say,  lying  one  uninterrupted  wilderness  before 
their  eyes. 


*  There  may  be  a  greate^number  by  the  census,  for  all  I  know — 
but  the  census  does  not  allow  for  casualties. 


234  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

Turn,  up  the  soil  of  that  two  billions  eighty-two  mil 
lions  of  acres  ;  render  it  productive  and  useful ;  dig  out 
its  rich  treasure  of  precious  ores  ;  build  up  your  cities  ; 
people  your  wilderness,  and  then  Americans  will  cease  to 
be  elated  at  their  success  in  building  a  little  yacht,  or  at 
their  improvements  in  a  revolving  pistol ;  or  smile  with 
complacency  when  a  London  newspaper  deigns  to  flatter. 
But  what  are  the  means  of  extending  cultivation  1 

Cotton  in  twelve  years  has  declined  in  price  30  per 
cent,  yearly. 

Rice  in  quantity  and  quality,  in  nine  years,  15  per 
cent. 

Tobacco  has  declined  in  quantity  the  last  five  years, 
2 1  per  cent. 

Bread-stuffs  are  returning  to  the  same  amount  of  ex 
ports  that  they  were  prior  to  the  failure  of  the  potato, 
&c.,  in  Europe. 

Sugar  cultivation  is  not  advancing.  Brazil  and  Cuba 
will  retain  that  trade  in  conjunction  with  East  India  and 
the  Mauritius. 

There  is,  under  present  prices  of  labor  in  America, 
no  possibility  of  extending  these  articles  ;  and  except 
tobacco,  probably  they  will  all  greatly  decline.  We 
see  that  India  can  produce  good  cotton,  and  land  it 
in  Liverpool  at  31  pence,  or  7  cents  the  pound.  In 
America  it  cannot  be  cultivated  under  5^  cents  per  Ib. 
We  see  not  only  that  they  are  capable  of  producing 
good  cotton  in  India,  and  at  that  low  figure,  but  that  one 
of  the  American  planters  has  given  up  his  employment 
with  the  East  India  Company,  and  is  become  a  planter  on 
his  own  account ;  a  thing  in  itself  trifling,  but  in  the 
symptoms  it  exhibits,  full  of  significant  meaning.  Eng- 


POSITION   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES.  235 

land  and  America  have  been  dearest  friends  in  cotton 
matters  ;  unfortunately  there  seems  to  be,  and  actually 
is,  (for  I  have  seen  both  sides  of  the  subject,)  an  uneasi 
ness  exhibited  by  both  parties  to  be  independent  of  each 
other.  This  is  discouraging,  and  it  is  melancholy. 
Americans  suppose  that  the  Continent  will  be  able  to 
give  them  better  terms  for  their  cotton.  This  is  errone 
ous  ;  the  Continent  of  Europe  has  not  the  same  means 
either  in  machinery,  shipping,  or  foreign  commerce. 
Therefore  it  cannot,  and  it  is  not  able  to  afford  the 
same  advantages  that  England  can,  to  the  seller  of  the 
raw  material,  or  the  purchasers  of  the  manufactured 
cloth. 

Americans  are  disposed  to  shake  hands  with  the 
weaker  party  and  shake  their  heads  at  the  stronger ; 
while  England,  on  the  other  hand,  is  straining  every 
nerve  to  render  herself  independent  of  America.  This 
may  be  well  in  its  effect  on  the  whole,  but  it  will  sever 
that  great  tie  that  binds  the  two  countries  together. 

But  America  must  turn  her  soul  from  cotton ;  it  can  be 
no  farther  a  national  staple ;  its  time  has  passed ;  the 
country  has  outgrown  it,  and  henceforth  it  ceases  to  be 
what  it  has  been  ;  other  staples  must  be  called  in.  But 
no  one  staple  of  itself  ever  can  be  to  America  what  cot 
ton  has  been.  It  will  require  a  multiplicity  of  them,  and 
from  time  to  time  she  must  add  to  them,  with  the  growth 
of  her  people. 

America  could  never  have  borne  the  decay  of  her  prin 
cipal  staple  for  the  last  ten  years,  of  125,000,000  dollars, 
compared  with  the  former  five  years,  were  it  not  for 
California,  and  the  impulse  given  to  exports  in  bread- 
stuffs  by  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop,  which,  from  1825 
to  1845,  varied  from  11,634,000  to  $16,000,000. 


236  PRESENT  AND   FUTURE   OF  AMERICA. 

In  1846  the  exports  went  up  to  $27,700,000 

1847  68,700,000 

1848  "  37,473,000 

1849  ;  j«_     "  39,155,000 

1850  ~7F"   only     26,000,900 

• 

So  it  is  seen  these  exports  are  returning  to  the  old 
standard ;  and,  with  a  decline  in  every  article,  can 
Americans  stand  and  look  on  in  apathetic  indifference, 
and,  like  a  Hindoo  or  Mussulman,  when  calamities  press, 
instead  of  exertions,  envelope  themselves  in  the  fumes  of 
tobacco  ? 

Mr.  Walker,  late  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  had  bet 
ter  hopes  for  his  country  some  years  ago  ;  and  he  esti 
mated  the  exports  according  to  what  he  supposed  from 
antecedents,  for  the  past  years,  more  than  treble  of  that 
which  they  are,  viz.  : — 

1846,  value  of  exports  were  $101,718,042 

1847,  "  "  "  150,574,844 

1848,  «  "  "  132,934,1 21  estimated  $222,898,350 

1849,  "  "  "  132,666,995         "  329,959,983 
18*0,  "  "  "  134,900,265         "           488,445,056 

These  are  grave  subjects  for  Americans  to  consider 
deeply,  and  to  turn  their  undivided  attention  to  mend, 
instead  of  those  horrible  politics.  I  have  been  in  these 
States  for  nearly  eight  months,  and  actually  I  have  heard 
nothing  but  politics.  No  other  nation  on  earth,  not  even 
England,  with  all  her  morbid  intolerance  in  religious 
matters,  has  suffered  an  equal  drain  on  her  mental  exer 
tions  on  this  head,  as  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
There  are  few  nations  that  have  «n  equal  number 


POSITION  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  237 

(comparatively)  of  newspapers  and  journals  ;  and  the 
whole  of  them,  without  an  exception  that  I  have  been 
able  to  meet  with,'  are  political.  I  have  been  told  by  an 
intelligent  gentleman,  who  had  been  through  some  of  the 
districts  of  these  States,  that  he  had  seen  curious  in 
stances  of  the  injury  this  state  of  things  inflicted ;  and 
one  in  particular  he  mentioned,  was  that  of  a  fiery  poli- 
tican,  with  whom  he  spent  a  day.  The  man  was  the 
owner  of  upward  of  twenty -five  cows,  but,  from  bad 
management,  he  could  not  get  a  drop  of  milk  for  his 
breakfast ;  yet  that  man  fancied  all  his  evils  sprang 
from  government. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  devise  some  means  to  en 
sure  the  prosperity  of  America.  It  was  only  this  day  I 
read  of  the  return  to  Liverpool  from  these  States  of  two 
hundred  laborers,  and  some  fifty  more  who  desired  to 
get  a  passage  on  the  same  ship.  Alas  !  that  this  should 
be  the  case.  Upon  what  stands  the  whole  fabric  of 
society  1  Is  it  on  commerce  ?  is  it  on  manufactures  ?  is  it 
on  politics  ?  Who  gave  to  commerce  articles  to  trade  on  ? 
who  gave  the  manufacturer  raw  material  to  work  ?  who 
is  it  that  maintains  that  class  of  citizens  who  are  such 
stumbling-blocks  to  civil  progress — your  scheming  poli 
ticians  1  It  is  that  poor  man  who  is  to  be  met  with  in 
the  field,  with  his  coat  lying  on  the  mould,  his  sleeves 
tucked  up,  an  old  hat  on  his  head,  strong,  unpolished 
shoes  on  his  feet,  the  plough,  or  the  hoe,  or  the  sickle  in 
his  hand,  the  perspiration  standing  in  large  drops  on  his 
brow,  or  streaming  down  his  cheek. 

He  it  is  who  supports  commerce — he  it  is  who  gives 
employment  to  the  ship-owner,  and  all  his  train  of  ship 
wrights,  carpenters,  coopers,  smiths,  weavers,  sailors,  sail 


238  PRESENT   AND   FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

and  rope  makers — he  it  is  who  supports  the  physician, 
the  lawyer,  the  clergyman,  and  the  legislator — he  it  is 
who  maintains  the  military  and  the  navy.  Two  hundred 
of  these  friends  of  society  have  left  these  shores  to  return 
to  the  land  from  which  they  came.  They  came  here, 
one  solitary  hope  animating  them,  that  they  could  earn, 
by  their  labor,  an  honest  and  humble  subsistence.  They 
came,  young,  active,  in  the  prime  of  life.  Their  country 
had  had  the  expense  of  supporting  them  from  their  child 
hood  ;  and  when  they  came  to  these  shores  to  give  their 
services  to  the  country,  they  were  rejected,  because  this 
country  will  not  study  its  own  interests,  or  will  not  know 
them. 

There  is  a  melancholy  fact  made  public  by  the  return 
of  those  200  men.  It  declares  that  Americans  are  in 
that  state,  that  they  cannot  find  means  to  employ  a  few 
hands  on  the  wide  area  of  2,810,000,000  of  acres  of 
land. 

Here,  politicians,  is  a  subject  for  your  consideration, 
and  a  lesson  for  you  to  cease  your  political  harangues 
and  scribbling,  that  destroy  all  sober  and  useful  thought, 
and  lead  men  to  become  frenzied  enthusiasts,  unfit  for 
any  good  purpose ;  harangues  and  scribbling  that  banish 
all  national  spirit,  and  sap  the  foundation  of  society  ; 
that  cause  men  to  devote  all  their  energies,  bodily  and 
mentally,  to  support  this  or  that  opinion  about  the 
government  of  interests,  which,  through  their  own  neglect, 
are  allowed  to  wither  away,  and  fall  in  ruins  under  their 
feet. 

Consider  the  lesson  the  departure  of  these  two  hundred 
laborers  reads  to  you  to-day.  Oh !  citizens  of  America, 
it  speaks,  in  melancholy  accents,  the  sad  truths,  the 


POSITION  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  239 

very  serious  position  in  which  you  stand.  Population 
increasing  at  an  unparalleled  rate,  and  exports  and  all 
your  leading  staples  declining.  These  200  men  were 
poor  ;  they  would  live  wholly  on  the  produce  of  the  field ; 
they  would  require  but  plain  clothing,  and  of  American 
manufacture ;  fifty  cents  a  week  supports  a  slave,  that 
would  support  them,  or  nearly  so — and  the  labor  in  the 
field  of  these  200  men  would  support  1,200  American 
citizens  ;  by  allowing  them  to  retire  from  these  States, 
you  so  far  cripple  your  own  power.  You  see,  in  the 
very  fact  of  their  deportation,  that  the  rusts  and  damps 
of  your  indifference  to  the  fundamental  interest  are  cor 
roding  the  main-spring  of  prosperity.  You  see  your 
selves  retrograding  200  steps  backwards.  It  has  pleased 
God  to  place  on  the  shoulders  of  other  nations  the  ex 
pense  of  raising  laborers  for  you,  and,  by  a  want  of  good 
management,  or  rather  by  gross  neglect,  you  do  not 
avail  yourselves  of  the  blessings  held  out  to  you. 

I  will  very  briefly  recapitulate  those  staples,  of  the 
introduction  of  which  I  will  respectfully  urge  the  practi 
cability  and  necessity.  First  is  tea. 

I  have  treated  in  the  foregoing  pages  of  the  quantity 
consumed.  There  can  be  hardly  less  in  tea  and  in  sub 
stitutes  of  other  leaves  for  tea  than  1,140,000,000  Ibs. 
consumed  in  China.  No  one  need  be  doubtful  of  this. 
Tea  is  the  usual  beverage  of  the  Chinese  at  and  between 
meals.  There  must  be  some  500,000,000  inhabitants  in 
China,  unless  the  people  did  not  increase  the  last  half 
century.  However,  say  367,000,000  consume  that 
quantity  of  tea  ;  wre  know  that  23,000,000  of  Americans 
consume  144,936,892  Ibs.  of  coffee,  and  20,000,000  Ibs. 
of  tea ;  therefore,  the  consumption  of  so  much  tea  in 


240           PRESENT   AND  FUTURE   OF   AMERICA. 

China  is  not  wonderful.  Say  the  population  of  the  world 
to-day  is — 

Europe,  '  V-      250,000,000 

Asia,     -  _"  -       612,000,000 

America,  55,000,000 


Total,  -       917,000,000 

There  are,  of  that  population,  only  the  Chinese  who 
have  their  tea  at  a  fair  value.  30,000,000  of  English 
and  Irish  consume  50,000,000  Ibs.,  with  a  heavy  duty 
of  55  cents  per  lb.  on  it,  and  of  a  spurious  kind.  If  they 
could  get  good  tea  at  a  fair  price,  there  would  be  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  a  consumption  of  150,000,000  Ibs.  ; 
therefore,  if  thirty  millions  would  consume  that  amount, 
250,000,000  of  Europeans  would  consume  600,000,000 
Ibs.  This  can  be  produced  in  America  for  a  feiv  cents  a' 
pound. 

The  United  States  consume  of  coffee  145,000,000  Ibs. 
Surely  the  Government  and  the  people  ought  to  do  some 
thing  to  encourage  the  introduction  of  the  plant,  and  con 
sider  the  immense  importance  of  these  two  simple  plants, 
that  do  not  require  annual  cultivation.  They  would  not 
only  become  an  export  trade  in  themselves,  greater  in 
amount  than  all  the  exports  now  of  America,  but  would 
have  the  political  effect  of  extending  the  influence  of  the 
United  States  over  the  bordering  States,  and  over  the 
whole  world. 

There  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  of  indigo  becoming 
one  of  American  staples  ;  and  for  this  plant  and  the  tea 
plant,  I  can  assure  my  readers  that  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  their  flourishing  in  America  ;  and,  as  I  have  had 


POSITION  OF  THE    UNITED   STATES.  241 

long  experience  in  cultivation  of  both,  it  is  my  intention 
to  carry  out  the  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  them. 
The  coffee  plant  can,  as  stated,  be  introduced  from  the 
same  climate  as  the.  Southern  States,  even  colder  than 
Georgia.  Of  the  other  staples  I  have  said  all  that  need 
be  said ;  but  may  simply  state,  it  is  my  object  to  intro 
duce  seeds  or  plants,  or  plants  and  seeds,  of  each,  and  I 
only  trust  that  the  American  public  will  assist  me  in  the 
object. 

I  beg  respectfully  to  mention  that  I  am  now  in  America, 
by  the  advice  of  the  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  and  if  the 
reader  has  time,  he  may  see  the  correspondence  between 
that  gentleman  and  myself  in  the  Patent  Office  Report  of 
1850-51. 

The  area  of  all  America  is  8,896,000,000  acres.  The 
United  States  already  possess  one  fourth  of  that  sur 
face  nearly ;  and  as  the  people  are  the  only  strong  party 
on  the  whole  Continent,  Spanish  power  must  give  way. 
Brazil  must  succumb  to  the  general  movement;  the 
Canadas  and  England  are  on  the  eve  of  separation.  Who 
is  there  to  fill  up  the  places  of  these  foreign  powers  ? 
This  Union,  if  preserved  from  Disunionists  and  Abolition 
ists,  will  spread  like  the  young  banyan  tree  over  the  soil. 
Each  branch  will  put  forth  its  root,  and  each  root  will 
become  a  stem  of  the  great  parent  tree,  and  all  will  be 
peace  and  happiness.  If  Europe  be  agitated,  let  Amer 
ica  sit  tranquil  and  dignified.  Her  duties  lie  within  her 
own  confines,  and  within  the  interests  of  her  commercial 
intercourse.  The  opium  trade  should  be  suppressed, 
not  by  war,  but  by  the  moral  censure  of  every  honest 
American. 

11 


242  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  OF  AMERICA. 

Great  cities  and  ports  must  be  raised  on  the  West 
coasts  to  trade  with  China,  with  500  millions  of  people,  to 
supply  them  with  grain,  timber,  &c.,  and  to  receive  from 
them  such  articles  as  America  requires,  and  cannot  pro 
duce  as  cheaply;  and  it  is  of  paramount  importance  to 
America  that  the  opium  trade  oe  suppressed. 


ERRATA. 

Page 

19,  1st  line,  for  4,375,000  read  3.252,634. 
30,  12th  line,  for  one-third  read  one-half 
34,  15th  linei  for  American  rice  read  America  has  shipped 

lice  from  Eastern  ports  to  China. 
80,  1st  line,  for  North  read  South. 
99,  13th  line,  for  a  pretty.little  bush  read  pretty  little  busheg. 

137,  7th  line,  for  $30  to  $40  read  $18  to  $'20. 

"     llth  line,  for  $39.50  to  $43.50  read  $21.56  to  $03.50. 
"     13th  line,  for  $53  read  $30. 

138,  29th  line,  for  one-sixth  read  one-third. 
190,  llth  line,  for  hill  read  Nile. 

194,  28th  line,  for  8,179.569  read  3,179,589. 
207,  25th  line,  for  and  read  any. 
"     28th  line,  for  any  read  and. 
238,  17th  line,  for  2,810,OUO,OUO  read  2,081,000,000. 


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